


Learning to Live

by Daovihi



Series: Laying Down Their Swords [1]
Category: Dragon Quest Series, Dragon Quest XI
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ballroom Dancing, Best Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Genderfluid Sylvia | Sylvando (Dragon Quest XI), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mutual Pining, Other, Panic Attacks, Past Abuse, Pre-Relationship, Prequel, Rape Recovery, Touch Aversion, Trauma, abuse recovery, and carnelian bashing, genderfluid!sylv, idiots to lovers, im not sure if i should use archive warnings for past rape so thats why i chose not to warn, jasper is REALLY fucked up from everything hes gone through, light heliodor bashing, light post-mordy spoilers, puerto valor is fantasy mexico, puerto valor ships it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:55:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 31,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25703167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daovihi/pseuds/Daovihi
Summary: Against all odds, Jasper survived. He may be but a shell of his former self, but he survived. Having no choice but to work as a servant, Jasper withdraws within himself, hiding all traces of his soul from the world. Until a chance meeting with a jester that has every right to hate him ends up changing his life forever.
Relationships: Homer | Jasper/Sylvia | Sylvando (Dragon Quest XI), past hendrik/jasper
Series: Laying Down Their Swords [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1864123
Comments: 10
Kudos: 14





	Learning to Live

**Author's Note:**

> WHEW! ive been working on this fic since may, and its grown to be so large! still, i enjoyed writing it, and thats what really matters. special thanks to my bff mlter for the spanish translations and cultural info
> 
> anyway, this fic has jasper recovering from the trauma of a TON of abuse in multiple forms. none of it is actually shown, but if you are sensitive to that kind of thing, i recommend that you exercise caution

It seems that no matter what Jasper does, bad luck piles onto his frail body like boulders.

It all started with the Luminary's return. He was supposed to be dead, his allies scattered to the four winds, and yet he reunited their little band and elimanted the most powerful troops in Mordegon's army. Then, they cut Jasper down to get to Mordegon.

Jasper has no idea how he survived. Perhaps it was his bestial form, now dormant, that had saved him. Maybe one of their party took pity on Jasper and healed him just enough to keep the reaper at bay. Or it could have been sheer luck, good or bad. Either way, Jasper had awoken the next morning to sunny skies and the unique flora and fauna of the First Forest, with Yggdrasil high in the sky.

Without the Silver Orb to fuel his body, Jasper was forced to crawl for hours, too weak to do any more than that humiliating shuffle. The sheer relief he felt when he finally reached Arboria was so intense that Jasper only had a few seconds to savor it before his consciousness gave out… only to wake up in a hospital bed, surrounded by heavily-armed soldiers. Next thing he knew, Jasper was being dragged to Heliodor's deepest, darkest prison cell without so much as a trial.

The next few months were a living hell. Every day, Jasper feared for his life. It was not uncommon for members of the prison population to succumb to disease, starvation, and their injuries. But Jasper knew his rights, miniscule as they were. Jasper kept his ear out for any news of the outside world. And as soon as he found out martial law was lifted from the kingdom, he got to work.

Jasper collaborated with his fellow prisoners. Developed a case against their imprisonment. And somehow, he managed to last long enough to take it to court. Truth be told, Jasper didn't truly want to live anymore. All he wanted was to soothe what little of his broken pride remained by putting up a fight before he was inevitably murdered by the guards. And yet… the king released them. All of them. But not without conditions.

Carnelian had officially decreed Jasper to be exiled from Heliodor City for life, and gave him an hour to gather his belongings and leave. By this point, Jasper was too exhausted from the legal proceedings to fight this if he wanted to. So he took only what was necessary and set out for Puerto Valor.

(Later, he would find that the only reason Carnelian released the prisoners at all was because Jasper's case was gaining international controversy, and because he was gaining pressure from his daughter.)

There were not many places Jasper could go. He was banned from Gondolia for cursing the mayor's son, so by extension Gallopolis and Hotto are out of the question. Jasper was wanted in Sniflheim for his role in freezing the whole city solid. Octagonia… was risky. The heavy presence of a Spectral Sentinel meant that someone may recognize Jasper as his commander, which would not lead to anything good.

But while Jasper had rested in Puerto Valor and plotted his next move, none other than Don Rodrigo had approached him, offering him a job as a servant, complete with free room and board. Jasper immediately recognized it for what it was: a ploy to ensure Don Rodrigo could watch Jasper at all times and potentially kill him if Jasper acted up. Anyone that had been as high a rank as Jasper had could see it for what it truly was.

But Jasper had nowhere else to go. He had no home, no army, no plan. He didn't even have any family, and even if he did, he would be hard-pressed to convince them to even let him stay the night. Jasper could not afford to turn the offer down.

Which is why he is now mopping the floor as though he is a mere trainee in the military, dodging the whispers, stares, and rumors that follow wherever he goes. One of the perks of this lowly job is that Jasper has not seen a drop of blood since he started working, a fact that brings Jasper great comfort. However, the either hateful or pitying looks he gets every single day seem determined to undermine that comfort.

But the worst part is how people talk about him while he is in the room, as though Jasper does not exist. They talk about what he did and what he went through as though Jasper did not experience every moment of it. And the pity… Jasper would rather have the hate than the pity. At least the hate didn't pierce into his soul and grow thorns inside it.

At least when that awful, screeching, rat-like jester comes to visit, all eyes are on them instead of Jasper. Only then is Jasper allowed to work in peace. He never dares watch the jester perform his cheap tricks. He couldn't, even if he wanted to.

"You do realize you can leave the building." Rodrigo randomly brings up during one of said jester's visits.

Jasper drags the mop across a dry spot.

"You can go anywhere in town after your shift. I will not stop you."

Jasper's mop starts spreading dirt instead of cleaning it up.

Rodrigo sighs. "Have you even spent any money since you started working for me?"

Jasper dips the mop in the bucket.

Rodrigo eventually leaves Jasper be. Jasper doesn't feel any particular relief at that. He only cleans. He cleans and cleans until the floors sparkle and shine. Then, he dumps the bucket out and heads straight to the bathroom. A strange commotion plays out as the front door opens. But Jasper pays it no mind. He scrubs and scrubs and scrubs until his hands turn raw from the abuse. It's only then does Jasper open the door, ready to continue with his chores.

The jester stands before him, arm extended to grab the doorknob. They and Jasper stare at one another before Jasper processes the jester's face and slams the door, locking it and ducking behind the counter. Of all the jesters that could be here, why is the one that beat Jasper an inch within his life?! It makes no sense. They should not be here. And yet, here they are, standing in front of the door to bash it down and finish what they started.

"Was that… Sir Jasper?!" The jester exclaims. "What is he doing here?!"

"He works for me now." Rodrigo joins the jester by the door.

Shit shit shit. This is bad. Jasper won't stand a chance against both of them, especially in such a tight space. There's no windows that Jasper could escape through. All Jasper has is toilet paper, soap, and some handtowels. Still, he clutches one of the towels and hides. Perhaps when one of them manage to break in, Jasper could use the element of surprise to his advantage and get at least one hit in before he dies.

"Wait, whaaaat?"

"I said he works for me." Rodrigo repeats. "Do not question it."

All goes quiet for a moment. Jasper's sweat runs down his forehead and back.

"Jasper?" Rodrigo pounds on the door. "If you are not using the chamber pot, then get out of there."

Jasper thickly swallows. He hesitantly steps up to the door and unlocks it, then slowly pushes it open. Rodrigo stands here with his arms crossed, while the jester keeps their arms to the side, with their brows furrowed.

"Gran diosa, you look like shit. What the hell happened?" Rodrigo immediately questions Jasper.

The jester tilts their head to the side. Before Jasper knows it, the jester is bringing their hand to Jasper's head. Jasper jerks back and threateningly holds up the handtowel. The jester retracts and holds both their hands up in clearly feigned surrender.

Rodrigo looks down and frowns, then looks back at Jasper. "Well? What are you standing there for? Sylvia cannot use the bathroom with you in it."

The jester pointedly coughs. "Sylvando."

Jasper sets one foot out the door.

"Maldita sea, last time you said it was Sylvia!" Rodrigo uncrosses his arms to throw them up.

"I'm genderfluid!" Sylvando says back.

Jasper bows his head as he fully exits the bathroom.

Rodrigo turns his attention back to Jasper. "Do you need to lay down?"

Jasper can't look up. It's as though his head's been locked in place by some godly force.

"Oh!" Sylvando suddenly exclaims. "It's because of me, isn't it?"

Rodrigo does not say anything, so Jasper assumes the question was directed at him. However, he cannot say anything in response.

"I will get out of your hair in just a moment, let me…" Sylvando scoots around Jasper to get to the bathroom, then shuts the door.

So Sylvando truly is not interested in Jasper. Jasper lets out a deep exhale. The tension in his body releases in an instant. He risks walking past Rodrigo to get as far away from Sylvando as he can. Rodrigo does not stop him.

\-----

The sun beats down on Jasper through the window, burning what little skin Jasper left bare, and yet he cannot bring himself to move away. All Jasper can do is look out and watch the birds as they flit across the air.

"How many days have you spent like this?" Rodrigo sighs as he stands behind Jasper. "You… you cannot spend every free day you have just staring out a window. You need to go outside. Talk to people."

One of the knights-in-training stops in front of the window. Shortly after, two other trainees join her.

"I understand that your body's still healing, but for fucks sake, it wouldn't kill you to enjoy yourself every now and then."

Jasper waves when the trainees notice him. They wave back.

"Hey! Are you listening, boy?!"

Jasper turns to Rodrigo and nods.

Rodrigo seems to be appeased by that. Partly, at least. "Good. Tell me, is there anything you want to do, but have not done yet?"

There's one thing Jasper wants to do. But Rodrigo would send him off to an insane asylum in an instant if he knew, so Jasper shakes his head.

Rodrigo sighs. "You do not make this easy…"

Before Jasper knows it, he's being dragged away from the window. Jasper automatically throws his arms up to shield his head. Rodrigo takes Jasper outside his property, then hands him a bag of gold.

"Here's your pay for the week. Now spend one hour away from the house. I want your purse to be lighter by the time you return. And do not even think about coming back before then!"

Jasper stares at Rodrigo, brows furrowed as he cluthes the purse close to his chest.

"What are you waiting for? Go!" Rodrigo points towards the market district.

Jasper bows his head and shuffles his feet in the direction Rodrigo pointed. Despite his posture, he keeps his eye out for any potential threats. All he finds are the hateful looks he really should be used to by now. Still, Jasper doesn't let his guard down for a moment. He ducks into a gazebo and sits in the darkest corner, then messes his bangs up until they cover both of his eyes.

Just as Jasper was prepared to wait out the hour in isolation, he hears footsteps approaching the gazebo. Jasper sinks in his seat, hoping that whoever it is has no interest in him, that they're just passing through. A shadowy silhouette appears, and Sylvando steps inside. 

"Hi." Sylvando smiles and waves as he sits down with a popsicle.

Jasper hugs himself as he stares Sylvando down.

"…Is there something on my face?" Sylvando asks, as though they are mere strangers instead of bitter enemies.

Jasper looks down at his feet. Sylvando must already be able to sense his unease.

"Hellooooo? Anyone there?" Sylvando waves a hand in front of Jasper's face. When Jasper flinches, Sylvando immediately leans away from him. "I'm sorry, darling, I didn't mean to scare you."

…What?

"How are you feeling?" Sylvando brushes a stray hair out of his face.

Jasper thickly swallows and nods.

Sylvando lets out an exaggerated sigh. "Thank the goddess! I was so worried about you yesterday. You looked ready to pass out!"

Sylvando was… worried? About someone he hates?

No. It's not as simple as that. There has to be some reason Sylvando is saying that. Jasper pulls his notepad and case of charcoal out and writes, "Did Don Rodrigo send you?" Then, he shows it to Sylvando.

"Nope. I just wanted to get a popsicle, then I saw you and I figured you could use some company." Sylvando licks the popsicle. "Why?"

That is so incredibly suspicious Jasper has to consciously keep his eyes from narrowing. He decides to play along for now. Best not to let Sylvando know he's onto him so soon. "Don Rodrigo kicked me out, so I thought he might have sent you to watch me."

"Uh, what is that word?" Sylvando points to a word that turned out smudgy.

Jasper rewrites it, but bigger and more legible.

"He kicked you out?"

"Yes. I had enraged him, so now he's making me stay out for an hour."

"What happened?" Sylvando's voice takes on a lilt of something Jasper cannot identify.

"I do not know. I was looking out the window while Don Ro" A piece of the charcoal snaps. Jasper frowns and adjusts the charcoal. "drigo was speaking to me about doing something besides that when he dragged me outside and kicked me out."

Sylvando takes a moment to think before responding. "Well, when life gives you lemons, I say make lemonade! What do you say we go for a little stroll around town? I haven't gotten the chance to go sightseeing yet."

Jasper's charcoal stays still. On one hand, this could be a trap. But on the other hand… something about Sylvando makes him want to risk it. Maybe it's because Jasper cannot see an ounce of pity or hate in Sylvando's face or body language. Maybe it's the fact that this is the most anyone has ever spoken to Jasper since he left Heliodor. Or maybe… it's because this is the first time anyone's smiled at him without sadistic glee since the Fall.

"Yes." Jasper writes.

Jasper can always keep Sylvando in front of him.

\-----

After what feels like hours of walking, Jasper collapses on a bench, strength completely and utterly spent. He wipes at his sweaty forehead with his sleeve and pants as he relishes in the cool shade.

"What's wrong, honey?" Sylvando asks as though the sheer heat isn't capable of frying them both like an egg.

Jasper shoots Sylvando a weak glare.

"Oh my! Sit tight, darling, I'll get you some ice cream!" Sylvando rushes off to an ice cream cart.

Jasper tilts his head back and closes his eyes, bangs falling out of his face. Moments later, Sylvando returns with a bowl of vanilla ice cream and a spoon. He smiles at Jasper and sits with him. Jasper takes the ice cream and starts eating without tasting the ice cream.

"I'm sorry I let you get to this point. I forget that not everyone handles the heat as well as I do."

This point…?

Wait. Does that mean…

"No no no, stay with me." Sylvando holds Jasper's head upright. "Keep eating the ice cream, sweetie.

Jasper keeps bringing the ice cream to his mouth with shaky hands. His entire body is rigid and tense from Sylvando's touch and the implications of his sentence.

"That's it. Keep on eating. You'll be back to normal in no time." Sylvando stops touching Jasper, but keeps his hands far too close for Jasper's liking.

When Jasper finishes the ice cream, Sylvando returns the bowl and spoon, then stands before Jasper with a warm smile and their hand extended.

"Let's go home."

Jasper contemplates Sylvando's hand for a moment before standing up without taking it. Sylvando does not seem to take offense at this. If they do, they don't mention it.

\-----

As the lights grow dim, Jasper rolls the program up and slides it in his pocket. He hadn't truly wanted to come to this performance, but he felt guilty about allowing a free ticket to go to waste, so here he is. Jasper pays no mind to the announcer, or to the beginning of the various acts.

Then, she appears. Sylvia jumps onto the stage with two feathered fans. Jasper sits up and watches as Sylvia dances for her darling audience. He has to admit, seeing Sylvia dance is more entertaining than anything he could possibly watch from his window at this hour. At the very least, coming here isn't a complete waste of time.

Sylvia's dance ends far too quickly for Jasper's liking. Jasper claps for her as she bows and exits the stage to make way for a ventriloquist and their puppet (who are not funny, despite the roaring laughter of those around Jasper). The rest of the performance feels like a drag in comparison, except for when every performer comes together for the ending in colorful outfits with big feathers, with Sylvia at the center. Even then, it's too short for Jasper's taste. The audience cheers and claps as loud as it can, with Jasper's own clapping joining in. The performers hold hands and dramatically bow, then the curtain closes, and the lights turn back on.

Jasper gets up and pushes his way through the exiting crowd as fast as he can. But even with his best efforts, he gets caught in the clog of human traffic as everyone around him seems to come to a standstill at once. Jasper's throat tightens as he tries to squeeze his way through. Even that fails to bring Jasper any meaningful progress towards the exit.

Then, he comes into view. Hendrik towers over everyone else, sticking out like a sore thumb. Jasper freezes in place, heart racing so fast it drowns out all else. Hendrik turns and sees Jasper.

Jasper cannot shove people out of the way fast enough. Social ettiquette does not matter. The threat of strangers attacking him in retaliation does not matter. All Jasper cares about is getting away from Hendrik as fast as possible.

"Jasper, wait!" Hendrik starts to give chase, nudging his way past those he can.

Jasper breaks through the crowd in the lobby, sprinting through the open doors and around the performers that had gathered outside to sign autographs. He doesn't know where he ends up after that. All he knows is that he's afraid, and that he can't breathe.

Something ends up whispering to him, speaking a nonsensical, far-away language. Jasper curls in on himself and whimpers. That whispering keeps growing louder, more… soothing? It stabilizes something in Jasper's mind, giving him something to cling to as he rides out the storm. Slowly, the whispering becomes clear and comprehensible.

"…perfectly fine. Just take nice, slow breaths. Can you do that for me?"

Jasper forces himself to slow his breathing down.

"You're already doing wonderful, darling. Keep at it."

Every breath Jasper takes becomes easier. His heart rate starts returning to normal.

"Everything will go back to normal soon. All you have to do is breathe."

Awareness of his surroundings returns to Jasper. He is laying on his left side, with someone next to his. Grass tickles Jasper's face, making Jasper lift his head up and open his eyes. At first, he does not see anyone, but when he turns his face, he sees Sylvia kneeling by his side, still decked out in her stagewear.

"Hey, honey." Sylvia smiles at him. "Welcome back."

Jasper sits up, taking in the flowery fields around him. Puerto Valor is only a few hundred feet away from the two of them. And right in front of him, a bottle of water is held up by Sylvia. Jasper takes the water and downs half of it in one sitting.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Jasper shakes his head.

"Alright. I won't force you." Just like that, Sylvia drops the matter. "Hendrik is looking for you. He got really worried after you ran off."

Jasper tenses up.

"What's wrong?" Sylvia furrows her brows. 

Jasper pulls his notepad and charcoal out. "What is Hendrik doing here?"

"I invited him to come watch my little show." Sylvia explains. "I really wanted all my friends to attend. After all, its my little troupe's first performance on a stage. Besides, every single butt in a seat helps keep my Soldiers' spirits up."

Jasper supposes the positive feedback from that would be important to people whose livelihoods revolve around entertainment. Still, that doesn't make Jasper feel any better. He stands and starts walking away on wobbly knees.

"Honey?"

Jasper glances over his shoulder.

"Since we came all the way out here, do you want to watch the clouds with me?" Sylvia pats the ground next to her with a smile.

Jasper looks back to the city. As much as he wants to be alone, his legs like they'll give out at any moment. So with a sigh, Jasper returns to Sylvia's side and lays down on his back. Just until he recovers his strength, he tells himself.

"Ahhh, it has been too long since I've kicked back and relaxed like this!" Sylvia uses her arms as pillows. "I've been so busy travelling and making the people of the world smile that I completely forgot to take a moment to breathe."

Jasper glances at Sylvia, then back to the sky.

"That one looks like a lion." Sylvia points to a cloud directly above them.

It looks more like a horse to Jasper, but he does not bring that up.

After several moments, Sylvia points to another cloud. "What do you think that one is?"

Jasper chews his lip as he thinks about what Sylvia would agree with. Then, he writes his answer down. "A tentacular."

"I think it looks more like spaghetti on a fork." Sylvia chuckles to herself. "Aw, now I'm hungry."

Jasper carefully watches Sylvia, but she makes no move to attack. In fact, she doesn't even so much as look at Jasper.

"So, uh, are you and Hendrik not on speaking terms?" Sylvia brings up.

"You could say that." Damn, Jasper's running out of charcoal. He's going to need to ask for more soon.

"In that case, I'll tell him you're fine when you get home." Sylvia gives him a small smile.

Jasper thinks for a moment. "Shouldn't you be with your troupe?"

"Don't you worry, darling, I told them there was an emergency. They know I'm out here."

Jasper furrows his brows. "What was the emergency?"

"You ran out so fast that I got worried about you."

Jasper drops both his charcoal and notepad and stares at Sylvia.

"Yes. I was worried about you." Sylvia confirms, turning onto her side towards Jasper. "I followed you here, then I helped you through your panic attack."

Jasper quickly picks his stuff back up. "Why?"

"Because it's my duty to make the whole wide world smile. And I can't do that if you're too scared to even function." Sylvia smiles.

Make the whole world smile… Jasper doesn't understand it. And if he's interpreting Sylvia's words correctly, then that means… she wants Jasper to smile. But why?

"By the way, do you feel any better?" Sylvia asks him.

Jasper nods.

"Wonderful!" Sylvia sits up and clasps her hands together.

\-----

Jasper hadn't intended to, but he ended up buying a ticket for the remaining shows and sat through each one. Despite the variations between them, Jasper had the same experience as the first time every single show. At least now, he had the foresight to stick to a side seating in the back. He even caught a glimpse of Rodrigo coming to one of the showings with all of his servants and students. When he bumped into Rodrigo later that night, Rodrigo's mustache twitched, and he expressed his approval of Jasper attending. Then, he pat Jasper on the shoulder and left him to his own devices.

The casual touch left Jasper's skin crawling, but it wasn't enough to prevent Jasper from watching the last showing. And to his surprise, Sylvia even pulled him aside and invited him to their wrap party. That is how Jasper came to be surrounded by a bunch of strangers in the dorm they had rented out.

"I want you all to be on your best behaviour Jasper." Sylvia carefully tells her troupe. "We want everyone to feel welcome around us."

Jasper stands in place, internally squirming at all the eyes watching him.

"Besides, if he was planning to be evil, my papi would've never taken him under his wing. Is everything clear?"

Jasper gives Sylvia a weird look as the troupe members all say yes.

Sylvia beams so wide it makes her eyes look like they've closed. "Then let's get the party started!"

The Soldiers of Smile jump and cheer at Sylvia's announcement. One of them starts playing music on the piano as the others get board and card games out. Sylvia ducks into the kitchen, leaving Jasper by himself. Jasper takes a seat on the couch and watches the ones who dance. Before… everything, he would've been happy to join a party and mingle with everyone, but now he can't even bring himself to do more than stick to the side and try to look small.

Luckily, no one tries to talk to Jasper. Either they don't want to interact with him, or they're too wrapped up in spending time with actual friends to pay him any mind. Either way, that leaves Jasper able to stay alone and think in peace.

"Oh, boysssss!" Sylvia calls out, standing by a table with covered foods. "It's time for you all to try some yummy Valorian foods!" Sylvia yanks the cloth off the dishes to the roaring cheers of the troupe.

Jasper sighs. So much for thinking. He supposes he might as well try something while he's here. He approaches the table, keeping to the side of the crowd. Sylvia has several foods labelled with their names, pronounciations, descriptions, and how spicy they are in a variety of artistic fonts and colors. Jasper puts a tamale and a few strips of carne asada on his plate, then grabs a fork and immediately retreats back to the couch. He was planning on eating alone, but then Sylvia ruins his plans once again by sitting next to him with her own plate.

"I'm so glad you decided to come to our shows after all!" Sylvia smiles as she scoops her mole onto a fork. "It means so much to all of us."

Jasper puts his plate onto his legs, then gets his notepad. "I simply wanted to avoid Don Rodrigo's wrath."

"Well, I'm glad you changed your mind anyway. I'm even happier that you decided to go to all of them."

Jasper draws an arrow pointing to his last sentence.

Sylvia rolls her eyes, still smiling. "I won't make you write anymore. Eat up, darling."

Jasper does just that, eating the carne asada first, then the tamale.

"Do you like it?" Sylvia leans forward expectantly.

Jasper nods.

"Thank you! I cooked all of it myself." Sylvia tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"Hm…" Jasper hums.

Moments later, someone shrieks. "It's too hot!" Someone holding a bowl of pozole fans their open mouth.

Sylvia runs over and pours a glass of milk for the troupe member. "Hold this in your mouth for a few seconds."

The troupe member takes a sip, holds it, then swallows. "Thank you so much. You saved my life."

"Don't mention it, sweetie." Sylvia gives him a wink.

Jasper finishes his meal. He considers going back for seconds, but decides against it. Someone might get mad if Jasper eats too much. He sighs and puts the plate on the seat as he lets his gaze wander. He notices a small group of people holding brightly covered cards with large numbers painted across them. Jasper contemplates this for several moments before his curiosity gets the best of him and he approaches.

"What game are you playing?" Jasper holds the notepad to the group for them all to see.

"We're playing Uno!" A troupe member with red glasses says from the other side of the table. "Do you want to join?"

Jasper rapidly blinks. "Is it truly alright to do so?"

As soon as the group reads what's written, they erupt into a chorus of yesses.

"We'll teach you!"

After a moment, Jasper sits with them, making them all cheer. One of them quickly draws some cards from the facedown pile and hands them to Jasper. Jasper plays a few games with them, and he has to admit, it's better than letting his mind wander to potentially hurtful topics. He even manages to win a round.

"Yoohoo!" Sylvia shouts and waves to the room. Jasper looks up from the game. "Who's ready for dessert?" She says in a singsong voice. Then, Jasper notices the large tub of… something with a label in all Valorian next to bowls, sprinkles, chocolate sauce, and a large covered rectangle on the counter next to Sylvia.

The whole room screams with enthusiasm.

Sylvia laughs. "Perfect!" She uncovers the rectangle, revealing a cake-like dessert with cookies topped with icing. Then, she takes the lid off the tub and leaves an ice cream scooper next to it. "So, I didn't have enough time to make labels for these, but this-" Sylvia points to the cake. "Is carlota de limón, which is made from limes, and it has cookies and consensed milk layered on top of each other, frozen to perfection!"

The troupe members clap and cheer.

Sylvia giggles. "Thank you, thank you. And its friend over here is helado de chile, or simply chili ice cream."

That causes the crowd to gasp and whisper amongst themselves. Even Jasper has to do a double take.

"I know spicy ice cream sounds weird, but it's soooo good, especially with pomegranate seeds!" Sylvia smiles so wide. "Come on, try some!"

One of the Uno players get up and grab some of both desserts. Soon, the others come up and grab some servings. Jasper waits until the crowd dies down, then approaches the counter, writing all the while.

"Ice cream is supposed to be cold." Jasper shows Sylvia the message.

"Oh, but it is! It's both cold AND spicy!" Sylvia scoops some of the ice cream with a regular spoon. "Here, give it a try."

Jasper frowns and stares at the spoon. Then, he grabs it, careful not to touch Sylvia, and puts it in his mouth. His eyes grow wide at the taste. It's unlike anything he's ever eaten before, with both a kick to his tastebuds and the cool temperature heavily contrasting each other, yet not cancelling each other out.

Jasper puts the spoon down on the counter. "Is this a common ice cream here?"

"Yep."

Jasper chews his lip. "The people here have interesting tastes."

"Oh…" Sylvia's face falls. "Well, at least you tried it."

Jasper is quick to write his next sentence. "I did not say that was a bad thing."

\-----

Jasper carries the basket, while Sylvando carries the blanket and umbrella. They pick a spot that is free from flowers, then Sylvando lays the blanket flat. Jasper puts the basket down and unpacks the plates and cups while Sylvando stabs the umbrella into the ground.

"Ah!" Sylvando shrieks and jumps back when the umbrella pops open after significant struggling. "Phew! That gave me a heart attack!"

Jasper groans as he clutches his head.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Do you want me to heal you?" Sylvando is by Jasper's side in an instant.

Jasper backs away and shakes his head.

Sylvando settles down further away from Jasper. "I hope it stops hurting soon."

Jasper continues unpacking the basket.

"I wonder what you made for us." Sylvando patiently waits, leaning on one arm.

Jasper finishes, then gets his notepad. "I did not make it."

"Really?"

"I am not allowed in the kitchen."

"Why not?" Sylvando furrows his brows.

"Don Rodrigo does not trust me with the knives." After a moment, Jasper keeps writing. "In fact, I legally cannot handle knives or weapons."

"Oh…" Sylvando frowns. "How did you get the food?"

"I asked one of my coworkers to prepare it. I have no idea what is in the basket."

"At least it got to be a surprise for us both." Sylvando offers Jasper a small smile as he puts food on his plate.

Jasper drops the notepad and starts digging in. It's nothing too fancy, just some sandwiches, cookies, and fruit, but Jasper enjoys it nonetheless.

"So, has work been going well so far?" Sylvando asks as he lifts a grape to his mouth.

Jasper nods as he chews.

"I'm glad about that." Sylvando opens his sandwich before closing it. "At least my papi hasn't been hassling you lately."

Jasper puts his plate down in favor of his notepad. "Is papi a Valorian word?"

"Yes! It means papa."

Jasper stores that knowledge for future reference. "Does your father work for Don Rodrigo?"

Sylvando takes several moments to read. Then, they chuckle. The chuckle turns into full-blown laughter that leaves him doubled over.

Jasper lets out an offended gasp. What could possibly be so funny?!

"Sorry, sorry, I just…" Sylvando wipes away a tear. "Rodrigo IS my papi! Bwahahahaha! You never figured it out?!"

Jasper deeply frowns as he writes. "I was" The charcoal snaps. Jasper internally curses. "preoccupied with my own issues."

"You know what, that's fair." Sylvando lets out a few quiet laughs before recovering and returning to his original position.

"You two are nothing alike."

"I know." Sylvando picks his sandwich back up. "But we do share a lot of similarities."

"Such as?"

"We both love going to the theater." Sylvando smirks as he lifts the sandwich up. "And we share multiple languages."

All of a sudden, Jasper gets an idea. "Could you teach me some Valorian?"

Sylvando gasps, dropping the sandwich. "I would love to!" He grasps Jasper by the shoulders and beams.

The world grows cold. Impossibly cold. Jasper freezes to the spot. Sylvando won't stop touching him.

"…Jasper?" Sylvando stops smiling. "Is something wrong?"

"DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!!!!" Jasper screams at the top of his lungs, smacking Sylvando's hands away.

"Wh-what?!"

"All this time, you have only been nice to me so you could take advantage of me!" Tears stream down Jasper's face as he yells and yells and yells. "You are just like those perverts that only care about my body!"

"Jasper, I swear it's not like that!" Sylvando pleads. "I only want to be your friend!"

"You fucking liar!" Jasper violently shakes his head. "The only reason I ended up in that goddess-forsaken prison is because YOU murdered my master and left me beaten an inch within my life!"

"Jasper…"

"Was he cruel at times? Of course! But he never kept me locked in a cage for as long as I was in prison! He only occasionally starved me! And he only beat and raped me a few times a week!"

Sylvando's jaw drops, and he stares at Jasper bug-eyed.

"Do you see now?! You ruined my life! You and those vermin you call friends!" Jasper's voice cracks, and his breath shakes with sobs. "I hate you!" Jasper throws one punch after another at Sylvando, but they barely make Sylvando flinch. "I hate you so much…" Jasper's punches slow until they come to a stop on Sylvando's chest. He clutches Sylvando's shirt like a lifeline as his energy seeps out with his tears. "You… rat…" Jasper's face falls onto Sylvando's shoulder, staining his shirt with tears.

"Jasper… I-I…" Sylvando goes quiet for a few moments. "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that."

"Oh, so now you apologize…" Jasper's throat is raw from so much screaming.

"Was Mordegon really that awful towards you?"

"He was not awful!" Jasper raises his voice, hurting his throat in the process. "He gave me power. He turned me into a monster. He made me Supreme Commander of the- the Spectral Sentinels. And you took that from me! All I have left is my inhumanity…"

"But did he hurt you?"

"…Yes."

"Oh, honey…" Sylvando's voice drips with pity, and Jasper hates it. "You didn't deserve to be hurt, especially not that much. Not from Mordegon. Not from anyone."

"But… I am a whore."

"Your sex life doesn't determine whether or not you deserved all of that."

"I cheated on Hendrik while we were engaged!"

"You still didn't deserve that."

"I… I do not understand…" Jasper sniffles. "I killed so many people. I kidnapped your friend. Why have you been so nice since I came here?"

"Because if papi thinks you deserve a second chance, then so do I."

It's Jasper's turn to lean back and stare at Sylvando with a gaping mouth. "S-Sylv…"

"Come here."

Jasper practically falls back into Sylvando's arms. Sylvando hugs him tight as Jasper cries anew. The sweet scent of strawberries and roses wafts around Jasper as he buries his face in Sylvando's shoulder.

"Just let it out, sweetie. Let it all out." Sylvando rubs Jasper's back.

It feels like forever before Jasper finally runs out of tears to cry. All that's left is wet cheeks, snot threatening to drip into his mouth, and the dark spot on Sylvando's shirt. Sylvando pushes a handkerchief into Jasper's hand, which Jasper gratefully accepts.

"How do you feel?" Sylvando asks.

"Like shit." Jasper blows his nose.

"Do you want some water?"

"Yes."

Sylvando pours a glass of water with one hand, then lets go of Jasper. Jasper gulps the water down in seconds, finally soothing his parched, hoarse throat. "What set you off earlier?"

"You touched me…" Jasper's head hangs with shame.

"I'm sorry I touched you without asking." Sylvando sighs, voice growing quiet.

Jasper purses his lips. "I.. I am…"

Sylvando stays quiet.

"I am sorry too." Jasper mutters over his glass.

"I'd rather have you yell at me than at someone else." Sylvando gives him a smile.

"You are far too kind."

"It's better to be too nice than too mean."

Jasper turns to the horizon and looks out at the sunset. "The sun is beautiful."

"It is." Sylvando agrees. "…Do you still want to learn Valorian?"

Jasper nods. "I want to be able to read the packaging on food."

"In that case, let's start right now." Sylvando picks up a cookie and holds it up in front of Jasper. "This is called a galleta. La galleta, if you want to say 'the cookie'."

\-----

When Jasper steps out of the office, tiny lollipop in hand, Sylvando is waiting for him with a big smile on his face and a teddy bear in his arms.

"Congratulations on your first visit! I'm so proud of you!" Sylvando moves to hug Jasper, but stops at the last minute. "How did it go?"

Jasper blows on his notepad to dust it off. "It went surprisingly well."

"See? Therapists don't bite. All they want is to help you." A bit of smugness seeps into Sylvando's tone, most likely due to his subconscious. "Oh! I got you something to celebrate!" He holds out the teddy bear.

Jasper accepts the teddy bear and squeezes it, noting how soft it is. He hands the lollipop over in return.

"For me? Thank you!" Sylvando unwraps the lollipop and pops it in his mouth as they walk out together. "Soooo what did you do in there?"

Jasper adjusts the teddy bear so that he can freely write. "We discussed my goals for the future."

"Aaaand what are they?"

"I want to have a bank account."

"That sounds like a good goal to have." Sylvando smiles at Jasper. "Is there anything else you want to do?"

Jasper shakes his head.

"Well, I hope you get that bank account." Sylvando pops the lollipop out of his mouth. "You know, I was petrified of going to a therapist, once."

Jasper looks at Sylvando.

"I thought they would send me off to a mental hospital to rot as soon as I confided how I felt. But with all the pressure that was on me to be the best performer ever, I had a nervous breakdown. After that, I decided to go see a therapist for my own good. It was the best decision I ever made. She helped me manage all the stress and anxiety I was going through. I still use her techniques to this day."

They come to sit on the bench in the gazebo they've spent so many hours in. Jasper lays the teddy bear on his lap. "You do not seem like the type to ever need therapy."

"That's because it worked." 

Jasper can't argue with that. He puts his charcoal and notepad down, then stretches his arms above his head.

"Are you hungry?" Sylvando asks.

Jasper shakes his head.

"Alright, honey. Maybe another time."

Jasper clutches the teddy bear to his chest. "…I have another goal. One I did not share it with my therapist." He says out loud.

Sylvando jumps a little. "What is it?"

"I want to make amends for what I have done."

"Oh, that is so noble!" Sylvando squeals.

"I do not know where to start." Jasper looks away from Sylvando.

"Hm, that is a problem…" Sylvando taps his finger against his chin. "Maybe you could pick up trash at the beach. That seems like a good place to start."

Jasper considers it for a moment. Then, he nods. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it, darling."

\-----

Jasper wrinkles his nose in disgust at the shards of glass sticking out of the sand. He bends down and picks them up with his thickly-gloved hand and drops them in his trash can. He checks the area for anymore broken glass, then gets up and moves on to the next piece of trash. Stupid humans, too lazy to walk a hundred feet away to throw away their litter. Jasper swears that if he has to clean up after a party one more time, he's going to allow the darkness to consume his soul once again.

High-pitched laughter pulls Jasper out of his thoughts. Children and teens on varying ages play in the water, with Sylvando chasing some of the younger ones around. Rodrigo watches over them all with a keen eye.

"Jaspy! Over here!" Sylvando waves to Jasper as soon as Sylvando notices him, only to be tackled by an army of children and get submerged underwater. He reemerges with a roar and picks a child up. "Who dares to assault the fearsome Sylvando?"

The child Sylvando is holding squeals as he lightly tosses into the water. Rodrigo turns to Jasper and waves to him. Jasper waves back.

"Jejeje, you are doing good work. Keep it up." Rodrigo nods at Jasper.

Jasper brings his fingertips to his cheek with a flat hand, then lowers his hand in a curve, ending with his palm facing up. It's one of the few signs he trusts himself to perform correctly.

"¡¿QUÉ CARAJOS, JASPER?!" Rodrigo screams as though he's being tortured. His hand comes to clutch at his heart.

The teens start snickering amongst themselves. Jasper looks between them and Rodrigo. Sylvando suddenly bursts out laughing.

"I think he- he meant to sign-" Sylvando clutches his belly and slaps his leg. "He meant… thank you!"

Now Jasper is even more confused.

One child repeats Jasper's sign. Another repeats what Rodrigo said. Soon, all the children are laughing and doing one or both. The teens only laugh harder at their antics. Sylvando stops laughing altogether.

"Look at what you have done!" Rodrigo glares daggers at Jasper at he gestures to the children. "You taught these niños a bad word! Now I will have to wash their mouths out with soap for months!"

"What?" Jasper mouths.

Sylvando and Rodrigo look at one another, then Sylvando gets out of the water and approaches Jasper. "Oh, Jaspy…" Sylvando quietly laughs. "Do you know what you signed?"

"I made the sign for thank you." Jasper whispers.

Sylvando laughs again. He checks behind him, then leans in close to Jasper. "You just called my papi a slut." Sylvando whispers.

"…WHAT?!"

"I said-"

"No, I understood what you said. But how…" Jasper looks behind Sylvando, right at the kids repeating what Jasper and Rodrigo taught them. Then, his gaze goes to Rodrigo, who is yelling at the children to stop.

Something bubbles up inside Jasper. It makes his chest shake with silent hiccups. Jasper clutches his belly as the feeling only grows stronger. Then, he drops his trash can.

Jasper doubles over laughing and snorting, forehead coming dangerously close to knocking into Sylvando's face. His eyes wrench shut from the sheer strength of his laughter, springing tears to his eyes. He has to keep his hand on a bent knee in order to stay upright.

"Oh come on, it is not even…" Rodrigo trails off mid-sentence.

Even Jasper's efforts to stay standing by himself are not enough. He has no choice but to throw his arms around Sylvando's shoulders to keep from faceplanting into the sand. Sylvando squeals and hugs Jasper, then picks him up and swings him side to side.

"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gooosh! I've never heard you laugh before!" Sylvando squeals.

The swinging only makes Jasper laugh harder. "It is- is not even- it is not even that funny!"

"I knooow!" Sylvando puts Jasper back down. "But your laugh is so adorable!"

"N-no it is not!" Heat rises to Jasper's cheeks.

"Oh, yes it is!" Sylvando lets go of Jasper, allowing Jasper to see his grin and ruddy cheeks.

"…You have a sunburn."

Sylvando blinks and gingerly touches his cheek. "I do?"

\-----

"You know, there are plenty of solteras in town. I could introduce you to a few."

Solteras. Bachelorettes? Jasper keeps his ear on the door.

Sylvia groans. "Papi…"

"Or solteros!" Rodrigo quickly offers. "Whichever you'd prefer."

"Ugh, I don't want to date complete strangers!" Some sizzling sounds come from inside.

"…Alright. But the offer is open, in case you change your mind."

Soon, Jasper hears footsteps approaching the door. Jasper runs away from it to the other side of the room and takes a stiff pose that is meant to be casual but is anything but.

"French toast, pancakes, and bacon, coming right up!" Sylvia calls out as she and Rodrigo carry plates of food, even though they and Jasper are the only ones in the room.

Jasper smiles and sits down at the dining table. They all start piling food onto their respective plates. Sylvia and Rodrigo hold hands and pray while Jasper shoves food into his mouth as fast as physically possible.

"Sheesh." Rodrigo says when he notices what Jasper's doing.

"Slow down, honey. You don't want to choke." Sylvia reminds him.

Jasper ignores them and keeps eating. Rodrigo shrugs and starts eating too.

"Do you like it?" Sylvia asks.

Jasper nods in-between bites.

Rodrigo chuckles. "You had better enjoy that. I burnt myself earlier trying to cook the pancakes."

Jasper swallows and coughs. "I have been ravenous all day long, and I cannot find the reason why."

"Did you get enough to eat yesterday?" Sylvia starts pouring barbeque sauce on her french toast, which is honestly one of the least questionable food choices Jasper has seen Sylvia make since moving to Puerto Valor.

"Yes, but now I cannot seem to stop eating." Jasper grabs more bacon and pancakes and shoves them together, eating them like a sandwich.

"Ooh, what a wonderful idea!" Sylvando does the same with french toast instead of pancakes.

"You two are disgusting." Rodrigo wrinkles his nose at their antics.

"Remember, I am the one that paid for the ingredients." Jasper wipes his hand on a napkin, then scratches his shoulder, frowning when he feels an odd shape through his shirt.

Sylvia finishes eating her food, then stands up and pushes her chair in. "Well, I think I should get to the market before everyone closes up shop. My darling little Tetsu wanted me to get him some thread before he runs out. Don't kill each other while I'm gone."

"Farewell." Jasper watches Sylvia leave, then returns to his meal.

"Are you certain you have eaten today?" Rodrigo asks Jasper.

"Yes. Why do you…" A pain in Jasper's jaw makes him pause. He feels along his cheek for the source of the pain.

"Are you alright?"

"It is nothing." Jasper takes another bite of french toast.

Rodrigo doesn't seem convinced, but he drops the issue. He sits back and watches Jasper eat the majority of the remaining food.

Then, Jasper's teeth start feeling off. Jasper feels them through his skin, then his eyes grow wide.

"Is something wrong?" Rodrigo stands up.

Jasper's teeth grow and elongate into sharp points, and his hands begin to shake as his nails do the same. He practically falls out of his seat trying to get to his feet. Rodrigo goes to Jasper, only for Jasper to shove him away as hard as he can.

"Stay away from me!" Jasper slams the door open and runs as fast as he can.

How is this happening? Jasper's bestial form has not emerged since Mordegon was alive. In fact, Jasper thought it to be long dead. And yet proof of its life shifts Jasper's very physiology, altering the base of Jasper's mind. Horns poke through Jasper's clothing, creating holes that only widen as they grow.

Jasper's head spins as he stumbles through the streets. He doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know where to go. The beast creates a fog in his thoughts. Jasper heads to the beach, hoping that no one is around. The seams in his clothes start ripping as his perspective shifts upward.

Jasper collapses onto the sand, clutching his head where his horns connect with his scalp. His clothing rips off entirely, revealing white fur and small horns. The last thing he thinks of before his awareness slips away is how he wishes Sylvia stays safe.

\-----

The beast stirs, relaxing his arms and legs. He pushes himself onto his knees and looks around. An ocean crashes onto the sand to his left. To his right, a path to a human settlement. And within, a gnawing, all-consuming hunger that saps the strength from his being.

"Eeeek! A monster!" A human shrieks from behind the beast.

The beast whips around to see a human pointing at the beast. Before the beast can do anything, some human warriors start rushing at the beast. The beast scrambles to his feet just in time to avoid a sword slash that could have taken the beast's arm off. Another stabs his spear at the beast and nicks his side.

The beast ineffectively kicks at the one closest to him, then turns tail and runs away. He flaps his wings and flies a few feet in the air only to come crashing back down. But still, he forces himself to get up again and start running away on foot.

"Over here!" The warrior call out, summoning more of their rank.

Shit. This isn't good. The beast turns a corner, knocking over a crate in his rush. Several humans cry out as the beast runs through the streets, desperately searching for a way out of the settlement. But no matter where he turns, more warriors seem to pop up out of nowhere, determined to kill him.

He runs down a path between buildings, only to come to a dead end. The beast whips around to see a group of warriors approaching, weapons pointed straight at the beast. There's nothing the beast can climb, nothing the beast can use to stall for time. The only option he has is to fight.

A reckless charge at full speed catches a warrior off-guard and tackles him to the ground. The beast doesn't waste any time in slashing at the closest warrior with his claws, tearing through their tunic and scraping against metal. Pain blossoms in the beast's shoulder as a warrior drives their spear through, making the beast cry out.

The beast slashes at whoever it was that wounded him as he gets back to his feet. Then, he holds his other hand out to summon a javelin of pure magic. Sparks of magic come to the beast's hand and coalesce into a small grip, only to fizzle out. Before the beast can try another attack, someone yanks his head back by his horns.

His wings flap in panic as he lets out an inhuman scream. The beast frantically rakes his claws across the hands on his horns as he wildly kicks at the warriors in front of him. After several cuts, the warrior lets go of him, and the beast uses an opening in the crowd to dash out onto the streets. As he expected, the warriors immediately circle around him, blocking the beast from fleeing again. At least here, the beast will have more room to maneuver.

"Jasper?! Is that you?!"

The beast looks above the heads to see an old man with a thick mustache and a white tunic. A sword comes crashing down above the beast's head, and the beast is pulled back into the fight. He dodges to the side, then gets on all fours and snarls. Another attack leads to a counter from the beast, a headbutt to the butt and a disarmament of their sword.

"I am warning you, stop this!" The old man shouts as he takes a crossbow out and loads it.

The beast tosses the sword aside and moves onto the next enemy. He launches into a charge and jumps onto them, biting into their shoulder. Sharp teeth does not get to pierce chainmail before something stabs straight through the beast's wings in one shot, sending him rolling off the warrior and onto the ground. A crossbow bolt sticks out of the beast's wings.

"Stay down! I do not want to hurt you!" The old man's crossbow is now devoid of a bolt again.

The beast snarls, lips drawing back to bare deadly fangs as he forces his wings up the bolt and frees them. In the blink of an eye, he's charging at the old man, who is stepping back and reloading as fast as he can. He buys himself just enough time to point his crossbow and fire right as the the beast jumps up. This time, the bolt lodges itself in the beast's chest. The force of such a shot from point blank range makes the beast tumble backwards, knocking the wind from his lungs.

"Stay down!" The old man repeats. He reloads.

The beast groans and forces himself up before the warriors can surround him. Pure adrenaline eats the pain in his body, powering his muscles as he prepares a desperate attack. 

"Maldita sea, Jasper, don't make me do this!" The old man points his crossbow directly at the beast's head.

The beast tenses his muscles and aims for as many humans as he can.

"No! Stop!" A warm presence drapes itself over the beast, smelling of strawberries, roses, and breakfast food. "All of you!"

The beast pauses, hands shaking with unreleased tension. A hand comes down to rest on the beast's back.

"I don't know what's going on, but you don't need to kill someone over it!"

The beast looks up to find a human wearing bright colors above him. Black hair is kept slicked back and taut. They look down at the beast and furrows their brows.

"You're hurt…" The human brings their hands together, making them glow green.

The beast snarls and snaps his teeth. The warriors and the old man tense up all over again and point their weapons at him.

"Don't worry, honey. It's just a little healing spell. I promise." The human gives him a smile.

The beast stares at the human's glowing hands for several moments before he lets out a sigh and relaxes. Green magic washes over Jasper, seeping into his wounds.

"Now, it's a reheal spell, so it won't kick in right away. Buuuut I do have some medicinal herbs you can eat!" The human snaps, and a plant appears in their hand. "Here you go, darling!"

The beast sniffs the plant, then devours it in seconds. It helps with his wounds, but only makes the hunger inside him greater. He whimpers and looks down at his belly, only to do a double-take at his body. Even with the healing effects, cuts and bruises litter his entire body.

"I know, I know. But never fear! The Great Sylvia is here to help!" The human snaps their fingers again, producing another plant from thin air.

Sylvia. What a pretty name. The beast eats the plant, and the smaller of the wounds completely heal. Then, he snuggles into Sylvia's hand and smiles, inhaling her pleasant scent.

"What a lil cutie-pie!" Sylvia scratches the beast's head. "Ohhhh, you're adorable! Oh yes you are!"

The beast smiles and tilts his head into the scratches. A strange feeling pulls itself out of the beast's chest, and Sylvia holds a bloody crossbow bolt up to the beast.

"There we go. You're almost done healing now." Sylvia drops the bolt. "How about you stay with me and my boys tonight? It'll be just like a sleepover."

The beast tilts his head to the side.

"Yes, a sleepover. I bet my boys would love to have you over again!"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" The old man speaks up, approaching Sylvia with his crossbow pointed down. "He could still be dangerous!"

"He's my friend. I trust him." Sylvia says to the old man. Then, she turns back to the beast and extends her hand. "What do you say?"

This could be a trap… but Sylvia smells and acts so sweet. Why wouldn't the beast want to spend more time with her? So with a smile, the beast nods and takes her hand. He comes to stand at full height, unable to stop grinning down at Sylvia.

"Wow! You grew so tall…" Sylvia looks the beast up and down with a light blush. "I like it!"

The warriors around the beast start dispersing, but the beast pays them no mind. What's more important is allowing Sylvia to guide him by the hand.

\-----

Jasper scratches an itch on his face, then returns his arm to his teddy bear. After a moment, he pushes his nose into the surprisingly firm plush and inhales the scent of strawberries and roses, somehow still clinging to the teddy bear after all this time. The teddy bear presses into Jasper and rubs his back with warmth Jasper thought wasn't possible from a mere plushie. Clearly, this gift from Sylvia is one of the best he's ever received.

Wait a minute…

Jasper opens his eyes and leans back. Right in front of him is Sylvia, wrapped in unfamiliar blankets with a night cap on her head. The straps of her pink nightgown peek out of the blankets and wrap around her shoulders, framing her neck. And her lips… they're slightly parted as she softly sighs in her sleep.

Jasper jolts up, pressing his hand to his naked chest. Wait, naked?! Jasper lifts up the blanket to find that yes, he is indeed naked as the day he was born. No. No no no no. This can't be happening. He couldn't have gotten into bed with his friend and… done those things to her. Jasper clutches the blanket to his chest and starts rocking back and forth.

"Mm, morning." Sylvia mumbles as she shifts around on the bed.

Tears fall onto the blanket as Jasper clamps a hand over his mouth. All his efforts to protect Sylvia were for nothing. Now Sylvia will hate him. She will never want to be around Jasper again. Maybe Jasper should just turn himself in. At least then, Sylvia will be safe from him for a while.

"Jazzy?" Sylvia sits up, letting the blanket fall to her waist. "What's wrong?"

Jasper turns away from Sylvia.

All of a sudden, Sylvia lets out a gasp. "It's alright. Nothing happened last night. I'm still dressed, see?"

Jasper looks at Sylvia over his shoulder, then looks back down again.

"What do you remember?" Sylvia asks.

Jasper swallows the lump in his throat. "I was in the process of turning into a monster, so I fled to the beach in order to avoid hurting you or your father."

Sylvia sighs. "You got yourself into a nasty tussle between several guards and papi. I had to step in so that they didn't kill you. After that, I brought you to my dorm so you could spend the night feeling safe and secure. But you got so sad when you had to sleep in the spare bed that you came to me with these adorable little puppy eyes and whimpers and, well, I couldn't say no to them, so I let you sleep in my bed."

"Did I… do anything untoward?"

"Nope."

"Are you certain?"

"Yep."

Jasper fiddles with his bangs. "So I did not force myself onto you?"

"Oh, no no no! Sure, you got cuddly, but that was all you did. And even if you tried, all I had to do was scream, and my boys would come running in an instant." Sylvia reassures him.

Jasper lets out a sigh of relief. "I am glad you are unhurt. If I had…" Jasper shakes his head. "May I borrow your clothes?"

"Of course!" Sylvia gets out of bed, throwing her nightcap to the side. "Me and the boys will get started on breakfast. Come on down when you're ready, dearie." Sylvia winks at him before stepping out of the room and shutting the door.

Jasper pushes the blanket off his legs before going over to the closet. He picks out a white shirt with red and white shorts to wear. The shorts are too gaudy in Jasper's opinion, but he simply cannot be bothered with pants or tights after the heart attacks he suffered from recently. When he's dressed, he heads to the living room, where several troupe members hang out in pajamas.

"Morning!" Lucas immediately greets him.

The rest of the troupe members look up and see Jasper.

"Awwww, he went back to normal!" Liam pouts. "You were so big, and so so muscular and handsome as a monster!"

Jasper scratches his cheek and blushes. "I hope he… I… behaved myself during my stay."

"Don't worry, you weren't naughty at all. In fact, you were quite silly!" Emilio giggles. "You looooved playing with the little cat toys we had lying around!"

"Oh goddess…" Jasper covers his face with his hand.

"And when you got tired, you curled right up on Sylv's lap and took a little nap right then and there!" Emilio continues. "Oh, you were so cute!"

Jasper runs off to the kitchen before Emilio can embarass him further. Sylvia stands over the counter mixing something while a troupe member fries something that sounds and smells heavenly. Sylvia glances at Jasper and smiles at him, sending warm feelings through Jasper's body. Just from the stove, he tells himself.

"Hi, honey." Sylvia stops mixing and sets her spoon down. "You look adorable."

Jasper groans and blushes even harder. "I am not adorable!"

Sylvia only laughs at Jasper. "Aw, but it's true! My clothes suit you so well!"

Jasper lifts his borrowed shirt up to cover his face. It smells of strawberries and roses.

"What a sweetie…" Sylvia coos at him. All of a sudden, her eyes grow wide. "Jasper, honey?"

"…What?" Jasper mumbles. Sylvia takes a few steps towards Jasper and stares him down. Her silence makes Jasper's skin crawl.

"Did you lose your eye in that fight?" Sylvia finally says.

Jasper fumbles for his right eye, only to find no hair blocking his fingertips. Where his eye once was is a gaping hole. "Shit!" He turns and goes back to Sylvia's room, frantically searching.

"Jasper!" Sylvia chases after him. "We need to get you to a hospital right now!"

"I do not need a hospital!" Jasper rips the covers off the bed, disturbing the discarded horns and shriveled wings that lay on it.

"Oh no you don't!" Sylvia picks Jasper up and slings him over her shoulder. "You are going to a hospital, and that is that!"

"I lost my eye years ago!"

Sylvia stops mid-step. A moment passes before she sets Jasper down. Jasper dusts himself off, then goes back to searching.

"What are you looking for?" Sylvia asks as she gathers the horns up.

"My glass eye. I wear it so that people do not bother me about my missing eye." Jasper lifts up a pillow before setting it back down. "I was wearing it before I transformed."

Sylvia throws the horns in the trash can in the corner of her room. "How about I talk to my boys about it?"

"Please do. I do not want to wear an eyepatch again."

Sylvia leaves Jasper alone once again. Jasper searches above, around, and under the bed for his eye, but his search comes up fruitless. He lets out a sigh and heads to the kitchen. Finding the eye can wait. Jasper is hungry, and there's food only a short walk away.

Jasper rounds a corner and comes face-to-face with Don Rodrigo. The hairs on the back of his neck rise as he stumbles back. He just barely remembers to cover the scarred section of his face with his hand.

"Ah, there you are. I need to talk to you." Rodrigo looks down at Jasper with an undecipherable expression.

"Right at this moment?" Jasper's insides clench.

"Yes. I need to clear something up about last night. Can we talk in private?"

Jasper gulps and leads Rodrigo back to Sylvia's room. Rodrigo takes a piece of charcoal and a notebook out.

"Can you tell me how exactly you got into a fight with the city guard?" Is the first question that comes out of Rodrigo's mouth.

"I do not remember how." Jasper answers honestly.

Rodrigo frowns. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"I ran away from the manor and collapsed on the beach."

Rodrigo writes something down. "Why did you go to the beach?"

"I did not want to be around other people when I transformed." A few drops of sweat form above Jasper's brow.

"So you knew you were going to turn into a monster?" Rodrigo's brow rises.

Was that the wrong thing to say? "Only shortly before, sir."

Rodrigo writes again. "Why did you try to avoid other people?"

Jasper's nails dig into his forehead, and his other hand clenches his shorts. "I did not know what would happen once I transformed."

"Hm." Rodrigo writes a few more words, then closes his notebook. "That is all. I will need to get Sylvando's testimony before I finish, but according to witness testimony… Wait, did Sylvando fill you in on what happened?"

"She said… I got in a fight, and I spent the night here."

Rodrigo nods. "According to witness testimony, two patrolling guards attacked first, you tried to flee, but the guards persisted and gathered more of their number. Everything points to you attacking in self-defense."

Blood drips down Jasper's brow.

"Since you had not committed any crimes, and made no indication that you were going to before you were attacked, charges will likely not be pressed."

"…What?" Jasper gasps, eye wide and mouth open.

"Charges will likely not be pressed." Rodrigo repeats. "If a guard attacks someone who is not breaking the law and had no intent to do so, and that person attacks the guard back, they will not be charged with assaulting a guard." After a moment, Rodrigo adds: "Unless they kill that guard. Then they could be charged with murder. But everyone fighting you walked away with light injuries at most."

"So… I will… remain free?"

"Almost certainly. I would be surprised if you got arrested at this point." Rodrigo nods, putting his notebook and charcoal away.

All the tension building up in Jasper's body uncoils with a snap. Jasper throws his hand onto the wall as all the breath leaves his lungs. He cannot believe it. He's not going back to prison. He's so delirious from relief he could laugh or cry or die.

"Do not faint on me, chico."

Jasper takes a few seconds to catch his breath, then he sits down. "I am not going to prison!" He howls, throwing his fists into the air.

Rodrigo quietly chuckles. "I certainly hope not. Sylvando would never forgive me if you did."

Jasper laughs and runs his hand through his hair. "And here I thought I was to be executed."

"If there is one thing Puerto Valor's justice system prides itself on, it is that it is unlike its neighbor's." Rodrigo holds his notebook to his chest. "Well, I need to gather Sylvando's testimony so we can finish this matter. Enjoy your meal."

\-----

True to Rodrigo's word, no charges were pressed against Jasper. That meant Jasper could keep working for Rodrigo and do whatever he pleases during his free time. He kept cleaning up litter, donating his earnings to the local orphanage, and hanging out with Sylvando. In fact, he even managed to find his lost eye while cleaning up the beach.

As for the beast inside Jasper, it kept coming back. It wasn't often, but when it did, it would cause trouble for those living on Rodrigo's property. The beast would regularly steal everyone's blankets and get into the pantry. Whenever the beast gets caught, all he has to do is flash some puppy eyes and he is immediately forgiven. It works for almost everyone.

As the months went on, Rodrigo put the trainees through several arduous physical and written tests that made even Jasper wince. Most passed, though some have to repeat classes and training. That was to be expected. Rodrigo arranged a party for those that passed and invited what seemed to be half the damn town, if all of these dishes are any indication.

Jasper scrubs at a stubborn piece of stuck-on food and eventually cleans it off, then puts the plate on the drying rack. He wipes the next plate a little harder than necessary when he realizes he cannot hear the party anymore. He's fine with missing out on the party. It's probably boring, anyway. No drugs or alcohol, since it's for Rodrigo's students. Nothing worth attending the party for.

The door opens, and in steps a man in an ankle-length green dress with elbow-length sleeves, a collar that's fastened shut around his neck, delicate little gloves, and a wide-brimmed green hat with flowers tucked into the ribbon wrapping around it. Must be someone Rodrigo invited.

"No guests are allowed in the kitchen." Jasper automatically drones, returning to his dishes.

"Not even your bestest friend in the whole wide world?" The man takes his hat off, shaking their curly black hair out, and only then does Jasper see their face.

"Sylvando!" Jasper smiles. "I did not recognize you at first."

Sylvando puts his hat on the counter and trots up to Jasper. "So, did you get to enjoy the party?"

Jasper clenches his jaw as he dumps the water out of a glass. "No. I had to wash dishes for the entire duration."

"Oh no, I'm so sorry." Sylvando's brows and lips turn downwards. "At least you can enjoy the ballroom without other people, now."

"I could, if I can get all of these damn dishes done." Jasper keeps washing them with a deep frown.

"…Wait a minute. Papi said you're not allowed in the kitchen."

"He made an exception." Jasper squirts more dish soap into the water and swirls it around with his hand. "He claimed that he did not trust the guests around me, so he assigned me to the dishes. What he failed to tell me was how he invited an entire army to this event."

"Do you want me to help?"

"No!" Jasper holds up a hand to stop Sylvando. "You will get your dress wet."

"If you say so, honey." Sylvando holds his hands up in surrender.

Jasper relaxes and goes back to cleaning. "Did anything interesting happen?"

"Mm, not really. Papi did knock someone out for disrespecting one of the ladies, though."

Jasper snorts. "You do not consider that interesting?"

"Papi is always quick to fight people when it comes to 'the honor of fair maidens.'" Sylvando deepens his voice to impersonate Rodrigo. "He may be a little stuck in his ways, but at least he's always been chivalrous to women."

"And what of the men?" Jasper smirks.

"They get to be in papi's presence."

"How kind of him."

Sylvando opens the pantry and takes out a block of cheese. "Do you like my outfit?"

Jasper glances over to Sylvando. His dress clings to his curves, making the mind wonder what it would be like to hold his waist or hips as they dance together. Not that Jasper wonders about that. Certainly not every day, and especially not at this very moment.

"Yes." Jasper finally settles on saying.

Fuck, Sylvando's smile is so enchanting. Did he splash a love potion onto Jasper without him noticing? "I was hoping you'd say that. You see, there was a certain white-haired man that I wanted to like my appearance more than anything."

"Did he?"

Sylvando freezes, blinking several times. Jasper raises his brow at Sylvando. "…Yes. He does."

Jasper decides to leave it at that and go back to washing dishes. It's only when he catches a glimpse of Sylvando biting into the block of cheese does he stop. "S-Sylvando! Please!"

"The party is over! I can eat as much cheese as my heart pleases!"

"That is not the issue!"

"Don't worry, I'll share! Promise!"

Jasper groans and shakes his head. He picks a fork up and quickly wipes it down before dropping it in the rack. Soon after, a piece of cheddar cheese floats in Jasper's vision. Jasper sighs through his nose and opens his mouth. Sylvando pops the cheese into Jasper's mouth, and Jasper sinks his teeth into it- oh goddess, that's the sharpest cheddar he's ever tasted.

"Do you like it, honey?" Sylvando asks so sincerely.

Jasper struggles to keep a poker face as he nods. He forces himself to swallow as he tries to focus on anything but how sharp the cheddar is. Like on the shrinking pile of the dishes. Or how the dish soap smells.

"I'm going to miss you, you know." Sylvando sadly sighs, lingering by Jasper's side. "Things just won't be the same without your teasing."

"And Puerto Valor will be too quiet without you and your merry troupe." Jasper moves his hand to grab a dish, ignoring the warmth that forms inside him when he accidentally brushes his elbow against Sylvando's arm.

"Don't you worry, dearie, I'll be back in time for your birthday. I might even bring back a souvenir or two."

"I will hold you to that." Jasper cleans a bowl. "Where exactly will you go?"

"Up to Octagonia and Zwaardsrust, then maybe Dundrasil. I heard people are starting to move back there thanks to my buddy Rab." Sylvando shuffles a little closer to Jasper.

"In that case, avoid mixing drinking and gambling. And keep an eye out for monsters hiding in the wheat fields."

"Awwww, are you worried about little old me?" Sylvando grins, making Jasper's heart do flips. "I'll be just fine. After all, I saved… lots of people."

Jasper sighs. "You can bring up Mordegon's death. I no longer care for him."

"Still, I don't want to put my foot in my mouth and hurt you."

Part of Jasper takes offense to Sylvando treating him like he's made of glass, but he mostly just appreciates Sylvando being considerate. He finishes doing the last of the dishes, then dries his hands off on a towel and rolls down his sleeves. "We have spent enough time in here. How about we go steal what leftovers are still there?"

"You read my mind, darling." Sylvando smiles and extends his hand to Jasper.

Jasper thinks it to be strange, but he takes Sylvando's hand and shakes it anyway. Sylvando's hand engulfs his, and yet it does not hold on tightly, making Jasper feel warm inside. Must be a hot flash.

"Uh…" Sylvando looks down at their hands.

"What is it?"

"Iiiiii was going for a handhold."

Jasper realizes how badly he misinterpreted the gesture. He is immediately overcome with crippling embarassment.

"Don't worry, honey! All you need to do is switch hands, and eveything will be picture perfect!"

Jasper quickly switches hands to prevent any more embarassment. Sylvando is more than happy to squeeze Jasper's hand before they walk out of the kitchen together. While Sylvando trots out with his head held high, Jasper keeps covering his face. He's certain that everyone can see the blush that only grows hotter and travels further with each moment his hand is in Sylvando's. And Sylvando swinging their clasped hands back and forth only makes it worse. It's like its pumping blood directly into Jasper's face.

"Ooh! Jazzy, look!" Sylvando tugs Jasper towards the dessert table. "There's some of your favorite fruit left~!"

A few strawberries rest on a large plate next to some empty serving plates and bowls. Some chocolate dip remains in a small bowl, though there is not much left. Jasper takes a strawberry and gathers some chocolate on it, then bites into it and smiles. It tastes like heaven after working for so long.

"So, did you get to dance with anyone?" Jasper casually asks.

"Lots and lots of people." Sylvando intertwines his fingers with Jasper's and squeezes again. "Though the man I truly wanted to dance with couldn't make it." Sylvando adds with a sad note to his voice.

"Why couldn't he?"

"He had to work during the entire party. From what I heard, his boss piled on a mountain of dishes for him to clean. I had to eat so much candy in order to nurse my poor heart."

"So we are in the same boat, then." Jasper watches Sylvando pluck up a strawberry, then grabs his wrist right as he's about to dip it into the chocolate. "Allow me." He takes the strawberry from Sylvando, then gathers as much chocolate on it as he possibly can before holding it before Sylvando. Sylvando smiles and eats the strawberry from Jasper's fingers.

"And they say chivalry is dead." Sylvando flutters his eyelashes at Jasper.

Jasper clears his throat and looks away. "I merely did not want you to get your gloves dirty."

"Mhm." Sylvando gives Jasper a knowing look.

"What?"

"Nothing!" Sylvando smiles and eats a strawberry by itself.

Jasper frowns and uses the last of the chocolate on the last strawberry. Then, he walks out into the middle of the room while savoring the taste of the strawberry.

"Look at this. An entire ballroom floor, all to ourselves." Jasper lifts his arms up by the elbow for emphasis. "All of this space will be gone tomorrow, you know. Rodrigo will be making his male servants move the furniture back into this room come morning. And I have not even been able to take advantage of it yet."

"I knooow. It would be perfect for dancing with a lover. No prying eyes, no risk of being whisked away by another dancer, just two people looking into each other's eyes as they hold one another." Sylvando sighs and presses both hands to his chest with a dreamy smile. "It sounds so romantic…"

"It does." Jasper nods in agreement. He clears his throat before speaking. "We may not be lovers, but… I did not get to dance. And given your- your desire to…" Jasper's entire body burns as he struggles to finish the sentence. After what feels like hours of speaking gibberish, Jasper just bends at the waist and crosses his ankles in a combination of a bow and curtsy while holding his hand to Sylvando. "M-may I have-" Jasper loses his balance and tumbles to the floor.

"Jasper!" Sylvando instantly falls to his knees. "Are you ok?!"

Jasper groans as he sits up. "In regards to my body, yes. As for my pride," Jasper winces as he rubs his arm. "It has been damaged beyond repair."

"Want me to kiss it better?"

Jasper lets out a high-pitched squeal as he covers his face. "Do not embarass me so!"

Does Sylvando look… disappointed? No, it must be the lighting. "How about a little reheal then?"

Jasper holds one arm out, watching Sylvando through his fingers with his good eye. Sylvando takes Jasper's hand and whispers, keeping his pink lips parted as he sends healing magic through Jasper's body. Perhaps it is the magic that's addling Jasper's brain, but that shade of lipstick looks lovely on Sylvando. It makes his lips look so full and kissable.

The shock of being pulled to his feet yanks Jasper out of his reverie. He blinks before reorienting himself. Sylvando holds onto Jasper's wrist for what feels like forever before slowly dragging his hand away, letting his fingertips brush against Jasper's. Jasper rubs at his eyes before dusting himself off.

"Allow me to try again." Jasper keeps his feet together as he bows at the waist. He offers his hand back to Sylvando as he keeps his head down. "May I… have this dance…?"

"Of course!" Sylvando giggles as he puts his hand in Jasper's. "Do you want to lead, or should I?"

"You may lead. My ballroom dancing has gotten rusty."

Sylvando smiles and guides Jasper into a simple dance. As they twirl around the ballroom floor, they get sucked into their own little world, where nothing exists except for the two of them. A spin here, a few steps there, and soon Jasper and Sylvando have matching smiles.

They step on each other's toes a few times, but neither of them mind. All that matters is how their bodies fit just right, how the warmth between them grows with each move and wraps around them like a blanket. Sylvando's hands feel so firm, strong, yet delicate like his gloves. They make Jasper feel secure like nothing else has, like nothing can hurt him as long as he has Sylvando. Then, Sylvando pulls Jasper into a dip, and that's when time slows to a crawl.

The light splashes against Sylvando's face, highlighting his best features and making his lipstick shine. Sylvando's lips are stretched out into the biggest smile Jasper's seen on him, and a light blush dusts his cheeks red. His jewelry hangs from him, framing the perfect shape of his jaw. But what is most striking is his eyes. Goddess, those eyes. The corners are crinkled up around gray eyes filled with so much affection that Jasper cannot help but get lost in them.

Sylvando is… beauty incarnate.

Jasper is pulled back onto his feet before he can finish taking in Sylvando's features. Sylvando keeps leading Jasper as though nothing happened. He hums out a little tune as Jasper struggles to catch up with him. After stumbling several times, Sylvando slows down.

"Honey? Are you getting tired?" Sylvando furrows his brows.

Jasper nods, feeling a little light-headed.

Sylvando brings Jasper to a chair and has him sit down, then Sylvando grabs a miraculously unopened bottle of virgin champagne and joins Jasper.

"How about a little drink to cool you off?" Sylvando pops the cork. The pressure in the bottle sends the cork flying across the room, smashing straight through a window. Champagne spills all over Sylvando's dress, spreading down his skirt.

Jasper quickly wipes the dress with his sleeve, trying to at least get the worst of the champagne out. Sylvando does all he can to stem the flow of champagne, which is not much. Champagne completely drenches his nice glove and falls onto the floor, creating a large puddle.

"Aaaahhhhh, it won't stop!" Sylvando holds the bottle as far away from him as he can.

Jasper gives up on Sylvando's dress and slaps his hand over the bottle, mostly stemming the flow. Eventually, the fizzing dies down, and Jasper tentatively takes his hand away.

"There's barely anything left!" Sylvando pouts and whines as he shakes the bottle.

"Forget how much is left, your clothing is sopping wet!" Jasper gestures to the stain on Sylvando's dress. "You will catch a cold if you remain in them!"

"I don't have anything else to wear!"

"Wait here!" Jasper runs as fast as he can. When he reaches his footlocker, he frantically digs through his clothing until he finds some suitable for Sylvando, then runs back and pushes them into Sylvando's arms. "You can borrow these. Now go change. That is an order."

Sylvando goes into the bathroom. Jasper paces back and forth as he impatiently waits for Sylvando. When Sylvando emerges, he is wearing a light blue poet's shirt with black slacks. His dress is folded up and hangs over his arm. Jasper doesn't know why, but something about the sight makes him feel… satisfied.

"Good. You will not get sick." Jasper gives Sylvando an approving smile. After a minute, he glances back to the broken window. "If anyone asks, the window was already broken."

"I cannot lie to my papi!"

"I do not want you getting in trouble." Jasper retorts as he starts cleaning up the puddle of champagne.

"But-"

"No!" Jasper holds up a finger. Then, he sighs and runs his hand down his face. What the hell is he doing? "Just… play dumb. I will go along with whatever you say."

"You know I can just pay for the window myself, right? I have plenty of money."

"…I will be honest, I forgot you are rich."

Sylvando giggles. "Just leave it to the Great Sylvando! Mark my words, that window will be fixed in no time!"

Jasper smiles. "I certainly hope so. Do you want me to walk you home?"

"No thank you, darling. Honestly, I'm more worried about you walking around at night."

"Then allow me to walk you to the door."

"Now that is a request I won't deny." Sylvando smiles.

They walk together, steps in sync. Jasper holds the door open for Sylvando, and for that, Sylvando gives him a bigger smile.

"Bye-bye, Jazzy!" Sylvando waves as he turns to leave.

Jasper waves back, watching Sylvando walk away. Only when Sylvando disappears from sight does Jasper dare to close the door and lock it for the night. He only takes a few steps away from the door before he freezes, the realization hitting him like a rampaging bull.

Jasper is in love with Sylvando. His best friend. 

Jasper falls to his knees, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Oh no…" He mumbles into the open air.

\-----

"I feel like a predator…" Jasper whimpers as he stares at the ceiling.

"And why is that?" Dr Escuella asks him.

"Because… Sylv is my best friend. They do not deserve to be the target of my attraction."

"What makes your attraction so bad?"

Jasper sighs and adjusts his bangs. "Because I am filthy. Broken. And Sylv did not ask to be subjected to… this."

Dr Escuella thinks about that for a moment. "Being in love isn't necessarily a bad thing. As long as you respect the other person's desires, being in love with them is perfectly fine."

"You do not understand! They have dozens of people already attracted to them! They could pick whoever they want! Why would they want me, of all people?"

"Because the two of you are best friends." Escuella points out. "And from what you've told me, they have feelings for you, too."

Jasper scoffs. "That was just a dance between two friends. Sylv only accepted because the offer was platonic in nature."

"Or maybe it was because it meant something romantic to them. You won't know whether or not they love you back until you tell them how you feel."

"But they have so many better choices!"

"They also have plenty of worse ones. Don't give up on this before you've even given it a chance."

The timer goes off, signalling the end of the session. Jasper gathers his bag and slings it onto his person while Escuella quickly writes something down.

"Think about what I told you." Escuella instructs Jaaper after she's done writing. "And remember: what other people did to you does not determine your worth as a person." She holds out a lollipop to Jasper. Jasper takes it and leaves without another word.

He isn't sure whether or not he's grateful that Sylv isn't waiting for him. Jasper starts walking down the street by himself, holding his lollipop to his chest. A million thoughts run through his head at once, most of them self-deprecating. After a particularly abusive thought, Jasper groans and shakes his head. He's about to walk past an unassuming stall, but stops and takes a look at the sign. Various smoothies are described on one side of the sign, while options for creating your own smoothie are listed on the other. Jasper chews his lip as he considers it. Perhaps some fruit will do him good.

Jasper approaches the stall and starts getting his coin purse out. "I want a strawberry, mango, and kiwi smoothie with chia seeds and protein powder."

They make the transaction, then the stallkeeper throws together Jasper's smoothie. When it is fully blended, he pours it into a glass, pops a paper parasol and a straw into it, then hands it to Jasper. Jasper puts his lips around the straw and sucks the smoothie into his mouth.

"That is good." Jasper remarks.

"Thank you. We use high-quality ingredients."

Jasper savors his drink, giving it time to hit his stomach. By the time he's about halfway done, the negative thoughts that flooded his brain have receded for the most part. He still takes his time with enjoying it, just to make sure. When the glass is empty, Jasper takes the parasol out and dumps the glass in the return box, and the straw in the trash. Then, he pockets the parasol and starts walking back home. When he gets back, he finds a group of servants sitting around a table playing a card game, with tokens scattered on the table.

"Hey, Jasper." Yolanda glances up from her game. "Care to join us?"

"What are you playing?" Jasper asks.

"Poker." Servantes idly shuffles a deck of cards.

"I will join later. For now, I will watch." Jasper pulls up a chair and sits down.

"So, how did therapy go?" Charlie pushes some of her tokens forward.

Jasper wrinkles his nose. "We essentially went around in circles."

"That's a shame." Servantes flips a card on the table over. "Did you at least do anything fun while you were out?"

"I did go to a smoothie stall on the way here, but that was it."

"Nice!" Yolanda smirks. Then, they all play their cards. "Aw man!"

Charlie laughs as she takes all of the tokens. "Seems like I'm on a roll today!"

"It must be because Rodrigo is not around to catch you cheating." Jasper scoots towards the table.

"Nah, it's because Servantes is terrible at shuffling." Yolanda points out.

"I could shuffle them." Jasper offers.

Servantes hands the cards over without a word. Jasper quickly shuffles them, then deals to everyone at the table, including himself. Yolanda drops some tokens in front of Jasper before picking her cards up. Jasper schools his face into a mask of indifference as he takes a look at his cards. It's a decent hand, but it certainly could be better.

"Uh oh, looks like my luck's finally run out…" Charlie grins from ear to ear.

Jasper rolls his eyes at the blatant lie. They all put forward their wagers, then reveal their cards. As Jasper expected, Charlie won again, but Jasper only gambled the bare minimum, so it wasn't a huge loss.

"You have an even worse poker face than some of the children I have taught." Jasper comments as he shuffles again.

"What do you mean?" Charlie furrows her brows.

"You were grinning when you lied about your hand." Jasper splits the deck before bridging the cards.

Charlie dramatically scoffs and puts her hand on her chest. "Why, are you calling me a liar?"

Yolanda laughs. "But seriously, you need to work on that poker face."

Jasper deals the cards out before putting the rest in the center of the table. "Where is Don Rodrigo?"

"He's running some errands in the other side of town." Servantes tells Jasper. He peeks at his cards, then pushes some tokens forward. "He won't be back for another half-hour."

"Perfect. We can play without him lecturing us about how gambling is a sin." Jasper smirks. He looks at his cards before putting them back down.

"You should see how long he goes on about the issue of hats in church. He's absolutely convinced that not wearing a hat during church service is disrespectful towards the goddess." Servantes chuckles a little. "He truly is a product of his time."

"Still, I'll take whatever the hell kind of religion Rodrigo grew up with over Mordegon's weird cult." Yolanda raises the bet.

"Ugh, do not remind me of that." Jasper wrinkles his nose in disgust. "Merely thinking about it makes me sick to my stomach."

"Were you in it?" Charlie asks.

"Yes."

"Oof." Charlie sucks in a breath. "That must have been horrible."

"You haven't the faintest clue how awful it was." Jasper frowns as he turns his cards over. Then, he gathers up the tokens, but it doesn't improve his mood. "I should have bashed Mordegon's skull in when I had the chance."

"You wouldn't be the only one to want that." Servantes says as he quietly sorts his tokens.

"Yeah, I doubt there's anyone on Erdrea that doesn't want to hit him at least once." Yolanda says.

"I am just glad he is dead now. Rodrigo may be strict, but he is a far better boss than Mordegon ever was." Jasper shuffles again.

"I'll take your word for it." Charlie scoots her chair further in. "Even though Rodrigo's weird…"

Yolanda scoffs. "Tell me about it. The other day he yelled at me because I wasn't wiping down the windows… while I was wiping down the windows."

"Ugh. He would make an awful in-law." Jasper grunts, dealing the cards one by one.

"Why, are you thinking about marrying a certain resident jester?" Servantes smirks as he takes the cards.

Jasper groans and blushes. "I do not have a crush on them."

"Yeah, right." Charlie smiles and looks over her cards. "But, uh, you're right about the in-law thing. One time I was chopping some veggies, and Rodrigo came over and said I wasn't doing it right and tried to do it for me. I refused, he wrestled me for the knife, and I got cut."

"Did you need medical attention?!" Servantes quickly asks.

"Nah. It was just a shallow cut. Thankfully, he never bothered me about chopping things again."

"Why can I see Rodrigo mansplaining everything under the sun?" Jasper considers a bluff for a moment before deciding against it.

"Probably because he sees anyone more than five years younger than him as children." Servantes chuckles. "I can hear his voice now. 'Servantes, you must embody the knightly code because in order to be a knight, you must be a knight and do knight things. Only then can you emerge as a knight.'"

The whole table laughs.

"Ooh, I'm Don Rodrigo, and I spit whenever I say my p's!" Yolanda imitates with a squeaky voice.

Charlie can barely get her next sentence out over her laughter. "I'm Don Rodrigo, and I like to follow arbitrary rules for no damn reason!"

Jasper brings his ponytail to just underneath his nose. "I'm Don Rodrigo, and I keep the mustache of a porn star past his prime, but I'm a good religious boy, I swear!"

All goes quiet. Servantes, Charlie, and Yolanda all stare past Jasper with horrified expressions. Only then does Jasper become aware of a set of eyes boring into his back.

"…He's right behind me, isn't he?"

\-----

Several consecutive hits land on the punching bag, tearing the paper taped to it. Jasper smirks, then he grabs the punching bag and knees it once, twice, three times, making eye contact with the stick figure drawing the whole time. Then, he backs away from the punching bag and sighs.

"Rats, all of them…" Jasper mutters under his breath as he lifts the bottom of his shirt up to wipe at his forehead.

Something squeaks behind Jasper, followed by several objects toppling over and hitting the ground. Jasper whips around with his fists raised, only to relax and smile once he sees the scene before him.

"Ah, my favorite torture victim." Jasper approaches and holds his hand out. "It was quite boring without you around."

Sylv smiles and takes Jasper's offered hand. "I missed you too, you little sweetie." Sylv allows Jasper to pull them to their feet.

Jasper's heart does flips at the contact. He quickly squashes his feelings down before they can leak into his tone. "Are you hurt?"

"In fact, yes. I have some booboos that need to be kissed better." Sylv smiles and tilts their chin down, blinking at Jasper a few times.

"Can you not cast a healing spell on yourself?" Jasper questions.

"Oh, I couuuuld, but I'm so very tired from my travels." Sylv twirls their hair with a single finger while keeping that smile on their face. "I would really appreciate it if my dear friend would help me recover."

Jasper pulls up a chair from the side of the room. "Here. Sit down."

Sylv immediately takes a seat, crossing their legs and holding the back of their hand out to Jasper. Jasper picks up one of several water bottles Sylv knocked over and presses the cap into Sylv's palm. Sylv hesitates for a moment before closing their hand around the water bottle and opening it.

"Your glamour is down." Jasper points out as he puts the rest of the water bottles back where they belong.

"Eek!" Sylv quickly reaches into their bag and whips out a ring. They slip it onto their finger, and just like that, Sylv becomes Sylvia. "Thank you so much, darling."

Jasper smiles a little as he takes some water for himself. "Where is the rest of your troupe?"

"They went straight home. Those boys looked just about ready to pass out by the time we arrived." Sylvia sips her water. "Anyway, how have you been?"

"I have been doing well lately, though I did incur your father's wrath not too long ago." Jasper drags a chair over to sit next to Sylvia, keeping a respectable distance between them. No need to promote pesky feelings, after all.

Sylvia winces. "Yeah, he can be really scary when he's mad."

"At least I kept my job." Jasper gulps down some water. "I am not certain I could get another one."

Sylvia scoots her chair closer to Jasper's. "With your good looks? I'm sure you can charm your way into any job."

Jasper chuckles, adjusting his bangs. "I highly doubt that."

"I don't." Sylvia leans towards Jasper, coming dangerously close to breaching his personal space. "Between that and all the hard work you've been putting into making Puerto Valor a better place, anyone would want to have you by their side."

Jasper gulps down several mouthfuls of water at once. It's just Sylvia being friendly, he tells himself. She's still talking about jobs, not… that. "I should return to my workout." He quickly says before standing up and going back to the punching bag.

"Okay, honey." Sylvia sounds almost disappointed. It must be Jasper's imagination. "Who's that on the paper?"

"One of the prison guards. Evey week, I pick someone I hate and use them to aid me in my workout." Jasper raises his foot to deliver a kick to the paper, then winces and rubs his thigh. "Shit… I am not as flexible as I used to be."

Sylvia runs up to Jasper. "Did you pull a muscle? Does it need a healing spell? Do you want me to massage it?"

Jasper chokes on air. "Sylvia, that's…!"

Sylvia goes bright red. "I'm- I'm so sorry! I wasn't thinking about that last part!" She covers her face with her hands and sways side to side.

Jasper groans and looks away. "I will walk it off." He shakes out his leg, then gets into a fighting stance and punches the drawing.

Sylvia takes one peek at Jasper and squeals again. She runs out the room without saying anything else to Jasper. Jasper watches her leave with furrowed brows. Sylvia seems to be acting… different. But no matter how much Jasper thinks about it, or how hard he gets his blood pumping, he can't put his finger on how. Maybe it's just the trip affecting her. That has to be it.

Sylvia returns right as Jasper wraps up his exercise for the day. Jasper offers her a smile as he puts a jump rope away. Then, he plops down on a bench with a heavy sigh. Jasper wipes at his sweat with his forearm before speaking.

"Hello again." Jasper pants. "I just finished working out, so…"

"How was it?" Sylvia asks as she sits down.

"It could have been better." Jasper undoes his ponytail and shakes it out.

"That's too bad." Sylvia frowns.

Jasper leans forwards and allows his hair to spill out over his shoulders. "Have you had time to rest?"

"Yeah. I got to go to a restaurant with my dear old friends."

"It better not be one I have not had the chance to eat at yet."

"And if it was?"

"Then I will destroy the city."

Sylvia laughs. "Oh no you don't. If you even think about that, I will be very disappointed in you, young man."

"Oh no, you have discovered my weakness!" Jasper dramatically clutches his chest. "How would I ever survive your disappointment?"

Sylvia's laughs grow a little quieter. "But seriously, about my friends… Well… they're the ones you fought back in the Fortress."

Jasper's eyes widen. "They are here?"

"Yes." Sylvia nods.

"At this moment?"

"Yes."

"Within the city limits?"

"Yes." Sylvia squirms around in her seat. "And Hendrik's… he's talking to my papi right now. With one of my other friends."

Jasper groans and rubs his temples. "Which one are they?"

"The old man."

"Ugh, what was his name again?"

"Rab."

Great, this is just what Jasper needed. His ex-fiancé and the grandfather of the Luminary in the same building he lives and works in. Jasper would be lucky to survive long enough to see his birthday. "Please tell me they are only here for a brief visit."

Sylvia stays quiet.

Jasper sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. "Who else is in town?"

"Jade, Serena, and Erik."

"So almost the entirety of…" Jasper trails off. "Do they know I am here?"

"Nope. Hendrik knows you live in the city, but other than that, they don't have a clue you're here." Sylvia purses her lips. "Hendrik still wants to see you, you know. He really misses you."

"So it would seem." Jasper clasps his hands in front of his face. "Tell me, what is the likelihood of Rab killing me once he learns of my presence in the city?"

"Oh, honey, he's not going to kill you." Sylvia reassures him. "He might be bitter, but he won't attack you so long as you don't attack him."

Jasper weighs this information in. He stays quiet for several long moments before standing up. "It is time for me to stop running away. I shall face Hendrik."

Sylvia stands up as well. "Do you want me to go with you?"

"Yes. But as soon as I tell you to leave-"

"I'll go. Don't worry." Sylvia gives Jasper a big smile.

Jasper grabs his bag of clothing and goes into the changing room. As soon as he is presentable (and almost entirely covered, as he prefers it), he steps out, makes some minor adjustments to his appearance, then stands before the door that leads to the hallway. He stares at it for a long time, then takes a hot sauce packet out of his pocket.

"Do you just keep hot sauce on you?" Sylvia questions.

"It is to prevent panic attacks." Jasper explains as he tears the packet open. "The increased saliva production from consuming spicy food will prevent my body from going into fight or flight mode. Or so Dr Escuella said."

Sylvia quietly gasps. "Why did no one ever tell me that? That would have saved me sooooo much trouble."

"Well now you know." Jasper squeezes the hot sauce into his mouth, holds it for a second, then swallows. He throws the packet away, takes a deep breath, then opens the door and walks out. "Where, exactly, is Hendrik?"

"Last time I saw him, he was in the sitting room." Sylvia tells him.

Sitting room. Agonizingly far, yet nerve-wrackingly close. Jasper gulps and starts making his way to the sitting room, one step at a time. His insides coil with each inch traversed, forming a ball of anxiety that only gets worse with each passing second. If it weren't for Sylvia's comfprting presence, Jasper might not have mustered up the courage to do this at all. But here he is, arm extended to grab the doorknob and confront his past. Even if all he wants to do is run from it and never look back.

The door creaks as Jasper slowly swings it open. Whatever conversation was taking place dies almost immediately.

"Jasper…?" Hendrik whispers, not moving a muscle.

"Hello…" Jasper forces himself to smile and wave.

"What in the world is Jasper daein' here?!" Rab shouts, looking at Rodrigo and Jasper.

"I work here." Jasper decides to reveal. "And… I live here as well."

Hendrik gets up and approaches Jasper, not looking away or blinking for one second. "All this time, you were… I thought…" Hendrik lays his hands on Jasper's shoulders. "I came to Puerto Valor so many times to look for you, but I could never find you. I was beginning to think that I had hallucinated you at the theater."

Jasper thickly swallows and brings his hand to rest on Hendrik's. "I assure you, I am real."

Hendrik envelops Jasper in a crushing hug. Jasper accepts the hug, wrapping his arms around Hendrik's midsection and burying his face in Hendrik's shoulder.

"Wait jest a minute. You hired Jasper?!" Rab suddenly interrupts the tender moment.

"Only so that I could keep an eye on him." Rodrigo crosses his arms and scowls.

Hendrik's grip slackens, allowing Jasper to take a step back. His hands linger on Jasper's arms before Jasper steps just out of arms reach. "Where have you been all this time?"

"Here." Jasper adjusts his bangs. "I… was not ready to face you, so I avoided you up until this point."

The gears in Hendrik's head turns as he processes that information. "Have you spent the entirety of your stay working for Don Rodrigo?"

"Yes."

Hendrik turns to Rodrigo. "You told me that you had no knowledge of Jasper's wherabouts on multiple occasions."

"That is because he specifically asked me not to tell anyone." Rodrigo explains himself. "Besides, plenty of people want Jasper dead. It is against my Pledge to do anything that could put anyone in danger."

"…I suppose you had a valid reason to lie." Hendrik frowns.

Sylvia clears her throat from behind Jasper. "Jasper, honey? Do you want to be alone for a little while?"

Jasper considers that for a few moments, then looks up at Hendrik. "Yes, I would."

Sylvia shares a glance with Rodrigo and Rab. "Come on, you boys. Let's get going so our favorite kni- uh, I mean, our favorite boys can talk."

Rodrigo sighs before getting up and leaving without a word.

"Erm, Hendrik, laddie, will ye be fine on your own?" Rab asks Hendrik without moving from his spot.

"Yes." Hendrik reassures him.

"Alright. Jest remember, I'm there if ye need me." Rab grunts as he stands, stretches his back, then leaves the room.

Sylvia holds the door open for them both. She gives Jasper a smile and a thumbs up before shutting the door, leaving him and Hendrik alone. Heat rises to Jasper's face, and he toys with his bangs to hide the blush that always comes on when Sylvia is near.

"So…" Hendrik sits down. "How have you been?"

"Good." Jasper sits next to him. "It could be better, but… I am making a steady wage. And I am attending therapy."

"I am glad to hear that." Hendrik smiles a little. "Are you acquianted with Sylvia now?"

"Yes!" Jasper smiles and lets out a quiet laugh. "She and I are very good friends indeed."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Hendrik's gaze grows soft. "I must admit, the concept of the two of you being friends puzzles me, given your personalities and how the two of you clashed numerous times. But so long as the two of you are happy, I am content to leave the matter be."

"I would hope you do so." Jasper smirks. "Because if you did not approve, well, it is none of your business."

Hendrik leans on the back cushions. "Do you miss being a knight?"

Bile rises to the back of Jasper's throat. Jasper forces it back down. "No." Jasper shakes his head. "I want nothing to do with that time."

"I am sorry you feel that way." Hendrik lays his hand atop Jasper's. "If it makes you feel better, Princess Jade is focusing on reforming the military."

"I see." Jasper purses his lips. "Tell me, where were you while I was in prison?"

"I was in Dundrasil, assisting with the rebuilding process under His Majesty's orders. News from Heliodor was few and far between due to the distance between the two kingdoms. By the time I had even heard of your arrest, you had already won your case and left the city." Hendrik squeezes Jasper's hand. "Had I known of your sentence, I would have come to see you, regardless of my orders. I would have assisted you in your case."

"…I believe that is exactly why Carnelian sent you away." Jasper's throat tightens. "He… he did not want you to see the conditions we were kept under, because… have you read about them?"

"I have." Hendrik confirms.

"Then you know how abysmal life was as a prisoner, even by Heliodor standards. Fortunately, I managed to avoid having to perform slave labor due to how I was still recovering from our battle, but…"

Hendrik pauses. "Slave labor?"

"How do you think the city was rebuilt so fast?" Jasper fiddles with his bangs.

"Oh my goddess…" Hendrik hugs Jasper again. "That… that was wrong."

Jasper lets out a soft sigh. "I am aware."

Hendrik rubs Jasper's back and gently rocks him back and forth. Jasper allows this, allows Hendrik to comfort him.

"I am truly sorry. I-"

"No more." Jasper cuts Hendrik up. "I do not want to dwell on this topic."

"Very well." Hendrik stops rocking Jasper. "Would you prefer to discuss your life in Puerto Valor?"

"Of course." Jasper breaks the hug. "I have done much during my time here."

\-----

Jasper walks behind Hendrik and Sylvando as they enter the restaurant. It's not that Jasper is hiding. He just happens to be fully blocked from view by the people directly in front of him. It is merely a coincedence.

"We have a table reserved for Hendrik de Weese." Hendrik tells the waiter at the front desk.

The waiter checks the reservations. "Ah! Your friends are already here. Come with me."

Jasper follows Sylvando and Hendrik as they presumably follow the waiter. He can't see in front of them, so Jasper can't really tell. All he knows is that they are going deeper into the restaurant.

"Make way for the Great Sylvando and co!" Sylvando loudly announces as they rush forward to give someone a hug. Jasper quickly moves to be fully obscured by Hendrik.

"Sylv!" Oh great, Princess Jade is here. "You're early."

"Well, you and the others are even earlier than us!" Sylvando laughs. Some chair scoot. "Wait, where did…"

Hendrik looks over his shoulder at Jasper. "Jasper is still with us."

Jasper cringes.

"Don't be shy, darling." Sylvando implores Jasper. "My friends won't bite."

Jasper takes a deep breath. He thickly swallows, then peeks out from behind Hendrik. "…Hi."

"Oh my goddess, you weren't joking…" Erik groans as he pinches the bridge of his nose. "Why on Erdrea did you bring HIM along?!"

"Because he is my friend." Sylvando does not appear to be affected by Erik's mood, smile staying firm. "Now remember: I want all of you to stay civil. All of you." Sylvando says as he sits down.

Hendrik sits down, leaving Jasper without a spot to stay out of sight. Jasper purses his lips as he sits between Sylvando and Hendrik. Jade clenches her jaw as Serena tightens her fist. Erik openly glares at Jasper in silence. The only one that doesn't seem to be angry to exist in the same room as Jasper is Rab, and even he sheepishly looks away.

"Are we waiting on another person?" Jasper asks.

"Yes." Hendrik answers.

"She's in the bathroom." Serena adds.

…Oh, they must be waiting for Eleven. Jasper didn't know Eleven is a woman. Jasper sits up straight, gut coiling at the thought of eating at the same table as the Luminary. No one dares to break the silence. Jasper carefully rearranges the condiments. No one stops him. Footsteps behind Jasper make him turn around. Then, he does a double-take.

"Gyldygga?!" Jasper shoots to his feet in an instant.

"Jasper!" Gyldygga bursts into a smile and practically tackles Jasper. "Oh my GODDESS I missed you!"

Jasper freezes for a moment. Nothing happens. "…Have you learned to control your powers?"

"Nope. I lost them." Gyldygga lets go of Jasper. "Where were you all this time?! I was all over the world, and I couldn't find youuuu!"

"I could ask the same of you. After your confrontation with the Luminary, I had assumed you had fallen like the rest of the Sentinels."

"Wait." Erik stands up. "Don't tell me you're buddies with my sister!"

Jasper looks at Erik, then back to Gyldygga. Then back to Erik. Gyldygga. Erik. Gyldygga. "The two of you are… siblings?!"

"Yeah. He's my annoying big brother." Gyldygga jams a thumb in Erik's direction.

"And you did not think to tell me such vital information?!"

"It didn't seem important at the time." Gyldygga shrugs.

Jasper looks at Sylvando. "Why did you not tell me Gyldygga would be here?"

"Mia." Gyldygga interjects.

"Mia." Jasper repeats.

"I'm sorry! I forgot you two were…" Sylvando glances over his shoulder. "Working together at one point."

"Hendrik?" Jasper turns to Hendrik with a raised brow.

"I did not know you two were acquainted." Is the defense Hendrik gives.

Jasper opens his mouth, then shuts it. "Honestly…" He mumbles as he shakes his head.

Mia circles around the table and sits in the empty chair. Jasper takes that as his cue to sit back down as well. Serena smiles a little at Mia's presence.

"So, will the menu be in all Valorian, or will there be Common translations?" Jade asks.

"Assumin' they havent changed anythin' since I was last here, they should have translations." Rab tells her as a waiter approaches their table.

"Hello, can I get you something to drink?" A waiter, apparently versed in both Common and Valorian according to her name tag, takes out a notepad and quill.

Everyone goes around the table listing off their orders. When it's Jasper's turn, he carefully thinks about his wording for a moment. "Manzana de jugo. Por favor."

"Apple juice?" The waiter asks.

"Yes."

The waiter writes that down. "Ok, I'll have your drinks out in just a second." Then, she walks away from the group.

"…She forgot our menus." Serena points out. "Oh well. She'll come back."

"I certainly hope so." Jasper takes a napkin from the dispenser and lays it out flat.

Sylvando takes a napkin as well. He scribbles something down on it before handing it to Jasper. "You got the words backwards, but your pronounciation was flawless!" Is what it says, accompanied by an exaggerated happy face.

Jasper can't help a tiny smile as he carefully tucks the note into his pocket. He gives a nod of acknowledgement to Sylvando before starting to fold the napkin. "Are we waiting for the Luminary as well?" Jasper voices the question he has been wondering since Mia came to the table.

The table grows quiet once again. This time, everyone bows their heads.

"What is the matter?" Jasper didn't say anything that could be interpreted as offensive… did he?

"He…" Sylvando's throat bobs.

"He's… gone." Jade's hand tightens into a fist. "It happened a while ago."

WHAT HAS JASPER DONE.

"M-my condolences. I was not informed." Jasper attempts to smooth things over, but the mood has considerably worsened.

"How the hell did you not know?!" Erik slams his hand on the table. "The news was all over Erdrea in days! People wouldn't stop bothering me about it for months!"

"Erik!" Serena slightly raises her voice.

Erik audibly inhales through his nose as he grits his teeth.

"…It happened when you were still in prison." Sylvando begins to explain. "Eleven, that darling boy… he… sacrificed himself to save… our friend. We never saw him again." Sylvando wipes at his eyes. "Erik took it the hardest."

"Oh…" Jasper bows his head. "Was he successful?"

"I don't know."

"Well, wherever he is, I hope he is at peace." And Jasper means it. He may have once been the Luminary's enemy, but now… All Jasper can do for him is wish that Eleven's soul can rest.

"Me too." Rab takes his cap off and holds it in his hands. "I've prayed to Yggdrasil for him. I dannae know if she heard them, but… my wee grandson deserves to live in a better world."

Quiet sobs emit from the table. Jasper looks around, trying to find the source of the noise. Eventually, his gaze settles on Erik, whose face is pointed downwards, spiky hair coming to hide it further.

"I should have stopped him…" Erik chokes out between wet breaths.

"Erik! Stop- stop crying!" Mia puts her hand on Erik's back and leans closer. "You know I don't like it when you do that!"

Erik only cries louder.

Hendrik stands up and goes to Erik's side. He lays his hand on Erik's shoulder. "You are not alone in your grief. We all lost someone close to us that day. But blaming yourself will not help you to heal. Believe me when I say this."

Jade joins Erik and gives him a tight hug. Mia quickly follows suit. Before long, the whole party has enveloped Erik in a group hug. And Jasper… He's standing by Erik, reaching out to place his palm on Erik's arm. Should he join the hug? Or would Erik not take to that well?

Someone pulls Jasper into the hug, and Jasper does not resist. He slowly brings his arms around everyone, vigilant for any sign that this is unwelcome. But no one rejects him.

"Th-thank you…" Erik sniffles. "You guys are the best."

"We only want to help." Serena nuzzles Erik's shoulder.

Erik pats someone, and just like that, the hug breaks up. Still, they all linger around Erik. Jasper notes that there are now drinks and menus on their table.

"Here, laddie. Drink up." Rab hands Erik's glass to him.

Erik gulps down the drink, then dries his eyes. He sits down, and apparently that's everyone's cue to return to their seats.

"I think I know just what will make you feel better." Sylvando smiles at Erik before opening the menu. "Some nice, warm soup will help heal those hurts inside you."

\-----

"I had forgotten how pleasant Puerto Valor can be in the morning." Hendrik comments as he brings his mug to his mouth.

"It is more pleasant than Sniflheim, at least." Jasper looks out the window, where the rising sun's rays peek into the cafe. "Even if the humidity practically destroys my hair at times…"

"Do you enjoy living here?"

"Yes. It is not exactly that vacation I have always wanted, considering I have to work as a servant, but the people are kinder than in Heliodor." Jasper sips his coffee.

"I, for one, am grateful that you managed to find a job." Hendrik smiles and reaches forward to put his hand on top of Jasper's. "Before I had found you, I was worried as to whether or not you could find a way to sustain yourself. But it seems I need not have worried."

Jasper's gut coils, and it feels as though ants are crawling all over his arm. He pulls his hand away from Hendrik's, and the feelings go away almost immediately. "You always were too much of a worrywart when it comes to my health."

"I doubt I could ever change that about myself. Even when we were mere children, whenever you scraped your knee, I would be screaming as though you received a mortal wound."

Jasper chuckles. "Scraped knees do seem lethal when you are that young."

"To be fair, they could develop infections and truly become lethal."

"That is true." Jasper absentmindedly swirls what remains of his coffee. 

"…Are you going to order any food?" Hendrik asks after a lull in the conversation.

"No. I already ate."

"Then neither shall I." Hendrik tilts his head back to drink the last of his coffee, then he puts the mug down.

"Are you certain?" Jasper questions. "I would hate to see you waste away because you are too polite to eat without me."

"I shall be alright. This is not the first time I have delayed a meal."

Jasper takes a sip. "What do you want to do after we finish here?"

"Whatever you wish for us to. It is your birthday, after all."

"I was asking you."

Hendrik rubs his chin for a moment. "Perhaps we could visit the butterfly garden. I have heard that it is especially populous this time of year."

"Hm…" Jasper looks into his mug, then finishes it off. "I do not see why not."

"Excellent!" Hendrik smiles at Jasper. "Shall we get going?"

Jasper and Hendrik stand up and make their way to the butterfly garden, which is thankfully not far from the cafe. By the time they arrive, the sun has risen a little more, allowing them to easily see the flowers without having to endure the heat. Dozens of butterflies flutter about, all speckled in a rainbow of colors to contrast with the flowers.

"This is truly a beautiful sight…" Hendrik gasps.

Jasper bends down to sniff a flower. To say it pleased his olfactory senses would be a gross understatement. "Mm. I often come here when I need some time away from people."

"Since you are already acquainted with this garden, would you mind leading the way?" Hendrik requests.

"Very well. Follow me, and do not step on any butterflies along the way." Jasper confidently strides forward with Hendrik following close behind. "There is a bench nearby. We can observe the butterflies from there."

Jasper walks through the twists and turns, keeping an eye on the ground as he travels. They come to a stone bench just big enough for the two of them and sit down together, their knees and thighs knocking together in the process. Jasper shifts his leg away from the touch.

"This reminds me of my homeland." Hendrik keeps his hands on his knees as he admires the flowers surrounding them.

"I can see why." Jasper clasps his hands together. "Do you recognize any flowers from Zwaardsrust?"

"No."

"I figured that was the case. All of these plants are native to the region."

"Does that mean the butterflies are native as well?" Hendrik asks.

"I do not know. I know some of them migrate, but other than that I cannot say."

"I see." Hendrik's arm comes to wrap around Jasper. "You seem… happier now than when you were a knight. It suits you."

The coil in Jasper's gut returns with a vengeance. Jasper's throat tightens as he shrinks away.

"Is something the matter?" Hendrik turns to Jasper without leting go of him.

Jasper takes a breath and stands up, breaking Hendrik's hold. "I have grown tired of sitting. I wish to see the rest of the garden."

"…As you wish." Hendrik stands with a slight frown.

Jasper walks through the trail, with Hendrik in tow. Luckily, Hendrik doesn't seem to mind the abrupt end to their rest, and continues to talk with Jasper about nature. But most importantly, he does not touch Jasper again. And Jasper is happy about that.

"I hope to come here again with you in the future." Hendrik says with a smile as they walk out of the garden, with the sun properly shining down on them.

"Perhaps next time I shall be able to name some of the butterflies." Jasper adjusts his bangs.

Hendrik is about to say something when he looks out and closes his mouth. Jasper follows his gaze to down the street. Sylvando is sprinting towards them.

"Jasper!" Sylvando runs up to Jasper and pants. "We need you at my papi's right now!"

Jasper's heart lurches. "Why? Is there an emergency?"

"No, but… just come on! Both of you!"

Jasper and Hendrik glance at each other, then they take off running with Sylvando. It's not long before they reach Rodrigo's estate and see the problem.

"Happy birthday, Jasper!" The crowd before Jasper cheers.

Jasper reels back. All of his coworkers, the Soldiers of Smile, Rodrigo, Mia, Jade, and Rab stand around several tables decorated with colorful ribbons. Place settings are all over most of the tables, while the rest are left bare. A few balloons are doted all over the setup.

"Wh-what?!" Jasper exclaims. "I thought something had happened!"

"Don't worry, sweetheart. Nothing happened. We just had a birthday party without the birthday boy. But now that you're here, we can start celebrating!" Sylvando smiles wide as he strikes a pose.

"Is this why you wanted me to keep Jasper away?" Hendrik asks.

"Yep! We wanted to make it a surprise party! Come on!" Sylvando jerks his head towards the party.

Jasper approaches his friends, a little dumbfounded by this turn of events. Charlie grins as she holds a party hat out to Jasper. He carefully secures it around his head so as to not tangle with his hair.

"What do I do…?" Jasper wonders out loud.

"Just kick back and relax!" Charlie unhelpfully provides.

Jasper looks to Hendrik, who is putting his own hat on. Jasper sighs and chooses a random seat. Sylvando immediately comes to sit next to him.

"Soooo, did you and Hendrik have fun?" Sylvando rests his chin on his hands.

"Yes. We got to see a butterfly garden together."

Sylvando squeals. "I'm sooo jealous! I haven't had the chance to go there in forever!"

Jasper smiles a little. "Perhaps we could go together in the future. You could teach me a few new words as we go along."

Hendrik comes up and sits on Jasper's other side. "Sylvando could come with us next time we visit the garden."

"What garden?" Mia sits opposite of Jasper.

"There is a public butterfly garden within the city." Jasper explains. "Me and Hendrik had visited it just now."

"Ugh, so it's for grown-ups…" Mia huffs.

Jasper can't help a chuckle. "Not necessarily. Anyone can enjoy the flowers."

"Not me! Flowers are boring!"

"You will learn to appreciate them with time."

"Hell no! I'm not gonna become a boring adult!"

All the adults around Mia start laughing.

"Adulthood is not such an awful thing." Jasper ignores the laughter. "You can travel wherever you wish without a chaperone, and you can eat as much unhealthy food as you want."

"Plus, adulthood doesn't have to be boring!" Sylvando adds. "You can keep being into the same exact things as you are now. In fact, it's more fun in certain ways!"

"Like what?" Mia tilts her head to the side.

"For example," Hendrik scoots forward. "You can get a job and make money, which means you can buy whatever you wish, and no one will say no."

"But that's boriiing!" Mia drones out, rolling her eyes.

"You could… buy an entire cake and eat it in a single sitting." Jasper suggests.

"Really?" Mia gasps.

"Yes! And you do not have to share it."

Mia evilly cackles. "I'm gonna eat an entire cake in front of Erik, and there's nothing he can do about it!"

"In that case, I recommend making the cake his favorite flavor, wih three tiers and as elaborate icing as you can get." Jasper's evil grin matches Mia's.

Sylvando dramatically gasps, placing his strong, beautiful hand near his mouth for emphasis. "Jasper! I thought you had reformed yourself!"

"Once an evil genius, always an evil genius." Jasper taps his head with a single finger. "You of all people should know that."

"Jasper, you are not evil. I have seen the work you have put into bettering Puerto Valor." Hendrik immediately jumps to disprove Jasper's statement.

"Honey, we're just playing around." Sylvando turns his hand towards Hendrik and curls it. "We do this all the time."

"Oh…" Hendrik blushes a little. "Pardon me."

"WHO WANTS FOOOOOOD?!" Liam screams at the top of his lungs as his fellow troupe members carry huge covered trays out of the main house.

"Me me me me me me me!" Mia wildly waves her hand in the air.

The Soldiers of Smile lay the trays out on the empty tables. When all of them are set, Servantes starts drumming on one of their drums, then the Soldiers reveal tons upon tons of food underneath the covers.

"Dig in, everyone!" Liam stands up straight and holds his arms out.

Everyone gets up and shuffles over to the food. Jasper WAS full, but the smell of such delicious food compels him to grab a plate and join the line. He piles chili, rice, cookies, fruit sandwiches, and strawberries onto his plate in a heavy, haphazard pile.

"Careful not to spoil your appetite, darling. The cake's still coming." Sylvando warns as he takes literally the entirety of the cheese plate and puts it on his own plate.

"Speak for yourself, little mouse." Jasper points to Sylvando's plate.

Sylvando scoffs. "Admit it. You were going to call me a rat."

"You are slightly more hygenic than a rat." Jasper puts his plate down to pour himself a drink.

"Only slightly?" Sylvando raises a brow.

"If you keep going, I will demote you to a rat." Jasper finishes pouring his drink. "Do you want me to pour you a cup?"

"Yes, please." Sylvando extends a cup towards Jasper.

Jasper pours into the cup, but when he lifts the pitcher up, he ends up spilling a little. "Shit!" Jasper grabs a napkin and wipes down Sylvando's hand.

Sylvando quickly puts his cup down and lets Jasper clean his hand. When Jasper gets all visible wetness off, he runs his thumb over Sylvando's hand. Just to make sure he got it all. And after that, he repeats the process. Better safe than sorry, after all.

Someone clears their throat from behind Sylvando. Sylvando turns, allowing Jasper to see who they are. Jade is holding a plateful of food with a slightly annoyed expression.

"I hate to interrupt this tender moment, but could you two move? I need to put my plate down."

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't realize I was holding up the line." Sylvando breaks free from Jasper's grasp and grabs his food and drink, stepping to the side.

Jasper frowns and follows suit, grabbing some napkins before retrieving his own plate and cup. Jade moves past them to put her plate in the spot Jasper's previously occupied. Then, she pours out drinks for herself and Rab.

"Happy birthday." Jade wishes Jasper as she stops pouring with far more grace than Jasper did.

"Thank you." Jasper nods.

"How auld are ye turnin?" Rab asks after jumping up to get his cup.

"Ten."

Rab bursts out laughing. "Then ye better eat your veggies if ye want to grow up big and strong!"

Jasper clenches his jaw and bites his tongue. He's plenty strong. Sure, he's not as strong as he once was, but he could still win a fistfight. Just… not against someone like Rodrigo.

"Awww, don't pout, darling. You're plenty tall enough!" Sylvando reassures Jasper.

"Says the man that is taller than me…" Jasper grumbles.

"Not when you're in your devilishly handsome beast form, you aren't!"

"…Do you truly think I am handsome in that form?" The corners of Jasper's lips quirk upwards.

"Hey, Jasper!" Yolanda comes running up with Servantes, much to Jasper's chagrin. "Are you enjoying the party so far?"

Jasper forces himself to take a deep breath through his nose. "Yes."

"That's good." Servantes smiles as he lifts his cup to his mouth. "So, uh, we have some games prepared for today. Would you like to play musical chairs, loteria, or pin the tail on the donkey first?"

"Musical chairs. But first, I want a chance to finish my plate." Jasper says, gesturing to his meal.

"Don't worry, we won't get started until everyone's had a chance to eat." Servantes assures him with a smile.

"Shall we?" Jasper turns to Sylvando.

Sylvando and Jasper walk back to their seats, where Mia is already gorging herself on cookies and not much else. It reminds Jasper of himself when he was a mere child. Jasper picks a spoon up and gets started on the rice.

"Honey?" Sylvando says before even picking up his own silverware.

"What is it?" Jasper blows on his rice.

"What was it you were asking me about earlier?"

…Oh. Sylvando forgot. It's fine. It didn't matter, anyway. Besides, he can't exactly tell him again without showing him how much Jasper loves him. That moment has already passed. "I forgot." Is the lie that Jasper tells.

"I guess it doesn't really matter." Sylvando lays a napkin over his lap. "We'll just get right back to talking, and when you remember, you can ask me again."

Jasper eats the spoonful of rice as his heart sinks. So Sylvando truly does not care. He takes a sip of his drink to stave off the negative feelings and lets the drink linger in his mouth before swallowing. "…Are you going to pray?"

Sylvando gasps. "Thank you for reminding me, I completely forgot!" He immediately drops what he's doing to close his eyes, bow his head, and bring his hands together in front of him.

"Really? You're praying?" Mia scoffs.

"Do not disturb him." Jasper warns her.

"Only stupid people pray." Mia shoves another cookie into her mouth.

"Mia." Sylvando cracks open a single eye. "I respect your choice to not follow a religion. Please respect my choice to worship the Goddess."

Mia frowns, but stays quiet. Jasper continues to eat as he eyes the way Sylvando's fingers curl ever so slightly, how such delicate hands hide raw power behind a perfect manicure. But most of all, Jasper allows himself to appreciate how good those hands felt against his fingertips.

Eventually, Sylvando finishes and stuffs a napkin into his collar before stabbing a cheese cube, swirling it around in his chili, and eating it. "Oh gosh!" Sylvando downs some of his drink. "That was spicier than I thought it would be."

Jasper tries some of the chili. As soon as it hits his tongue, he's struck by a burning inferno. He cannot even bring himself to make a sound as he fans his mouth. After several seconds of this, he bites into a fruit sandwich in the hopes that the cream will help, and it does. A little.

Sylvando seems to have recovered enough to continue eating the chili, although he is slower to eat it. Mia has given the cookies a break in favor of some of the rice. Good. She needs something besides sugar in her diet.

"Where is Hendrik?" Jasper asks.

"He's talking to Rab." Mia points behind Jasper, to where Hendrik is standing with Rab.

Hendrik sees Jasper looking, then he says something to Rab before approaching their table. He sits down with a light flush on his cheeks. "Jasper."

"Yes?" Jasper pauses his meal.

"I was wondering if you would… accompany me for another walk on wednesday." Hendrik blushes harder as he speaks.

"Will we be with other people?" Jasper asks.

"No. It shall be just the two of us."

Oh no. Is this a date? It sounds like a date. Hendrik's blush only compounds Jasper's worries. "Um… I have already made plans." Jasper looks away.

"Then perhaps we could go on another day?" Hendrik suggests.

"I cannot. I am… busy this week." Jasper continues lying.

"I see. When you have free time, come talk to me and we shall go on that walk." Hendrik decides as he starts eating.

Jasper shoves more chili into his mouth, then a strawberry. Hendrik's not trying to force him to go on a date, he tells himself. Maybe it's just a platonic thing, like how they would venture into deep forests in search of adventure when they were children. Maybe it doesn't mean anything.

"Jazzy?" Sylvando grabs Jasper's attention. Jasper notes that he's almost done eating. "Did I tell you how lovely you look today?"

"N-no." Jasper scoops up some rice and practically inhales the whole spoonful.

"Allow me to correct that, darling: you are the most fashionable, most handsome, and overall most good-looking boy at this party! But I wouldn't expect anything less from the man of the day."

Jasper's heart starts pumping fast. The blood in his arteries make the executive decision to travel to his cheeks against his will. Jasper starts eating as fast as he can to hide what must be a large, creeping blush that grows more obvious with each passing second.

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down!" Mia holds her hand out to stop Jasper. "You're getting food everywhere, and it's gross!"

Jasper starts chewing with his mouth open.

"Ugh, why are boys so gross?!" Mia crosses her arms and huffs.

Jasper lets out a strong exhale through his nose and slows down.

"You do have some food on your face, though." Sylvando points out.

Jasper swallows. "I do?"

"Yes. Is it okay if I get it for you?" Sylvando holds up a napkin.

"Go ahead." Jasper sits up straight and fully faces Sylvando.

Sylvando brings his napkin to the corner of Jasper's mouth, and time slows to a crawl. The pressure of Sylvando's hand against Jasper's lips makes Jasper's body tremble. And when Sylvando swipes his hand, Jasper wants to follow it with his mouth, to kiss each and every single knuckle, finger, and tendon. He could easily spend eternity like this, savoring every moment of Sylvando's touch.

"Done!" Sylvando smiles and puts the napkin down.

Jasper blinks out of his stupor. He gingerly touches his fingertips to his lower lip as his heart yearns for the lost touch. He says nothing as he turns back to his plate and finishes eating. Soon after, Servantes announces that a game of musical chairs is about to begin.

Emilio wins the first round, then Mia, after Jasper intentionally reacted slow early on. After that, Tetsu and Charlie win. Each winner gets a party favor bag after they win, something Mia is clearly happy about, if the constant dooting she produced after inspecting her hard-earned gains is anything to go off of.

"So, which game do you want to play next?" Servantes asks after all of the rounds are finished.

Jasper takes a sip to cool himself down. "Pin the tail on the donkey."

"Are you sure you don't want to play loteria?" Yolanda tilts her head to the side.

"I would have said loteria if I wanted to play loteria." Jasper insists.

"Alright. I'll tell Don Rodrigo, and we can set it up." Servantes turns and walks away.

Jasper helps himself to another strawberry as he stands with Yolanda. There's no chocolate to dip it into, but that's alright. Strawberries are delicious on their own.

"…You know Sylvando would do anything for you, right?" Yolanda brings up out of the blue.

"Why are you asking me this?" Jasper raises his brow.

"I was just thinking, you're the birthday boy. I'm sure Sylvando would give you a birthday kiss if you asked nicely."

Jasper sighs. "I do not want to kiss him."

"Everyone sees the way you look at him. You're not subtle."

"I do not know what you are referring to."

Yolanda groans. "Sylvando isn't going to know how you feel about him until you tell him, you know."

"He knows that I care for him, and that is enough."

Yolanda groans and rubs her temples. "You can be really stubborn when you want to be."

"So I have heard." Jasper looks away and takes a sip of his drink.

Yolanda huffs and shakes her head before walking away. Jasper takes advantage of the fact that the snack table is unattended except for himself to take several generous portions of food. And by generous, he means bordering on gluttonous. He cackles as he carries his haul to a random table and starts to devour it.

"Everyone! Pin the tail on the ass is about to begin!" Rodrigo screams loud enough for all of the partygoers to hear. Mia immediately bursts into laughter. "What? What is so funny?"

Rab approaches Rodrigo and gestures for him to bend down. Rodrigo crouches down and allows Rab to whisper something into his ear.

Rodrigo goes red as a tomato. "Ugh, native Common speakers only think about the genitals!" He throws his hands up in the air, then drags one down his face.

Jasper can't help a snicker.

Rodrigo sighs. "Anyway, all of you get over here before I lose my patience."

Jasper carries his plate over with a smile. He's not even mad about having to put off his meal. He's simply too amused at his boss' expense to mind. A crowd forms around a tall post with a corkboard hanging off of it. A drawing of a donkey with an exaggerated rear end and a bullseye near the tail region is pinned to the corkboard next to several 'tails' on tacks with names written down them.

"Birthday boy goes first!" Rodrigo declares.

Jasper looks around and finds Sylvando in the crowd. He quickly runs up to him and holds his plate out. "Hold this for me. And do not eat my food."

"Right, eat all of your food. I'm more than happy to." Sylvando smirks as he takes the plate.

Jasper rolls his eyes and smacks Sylvando on the arm. "You had best be joking." He finds the tail with his name on it and yanks the tack out, then takes a few steps back and allows Servantes to blindfold and spin him around.

Jasper lifts his arm up and steps forward, hoping that he's walking in the general direction of the bullseye. He jabs the pin as deep into the corkboard as he can, then takes a few steps back and lifts up the blindfold. He got the tail pretty close to the center of the bullseye. It could have been better, but he's happy with his results.

Jasper smirks as he rejoins Sylvando's side. "Do you think you can beat me?"

"I don't know. Only one way to find out." Sylvando winks as he hands Jasper's plate back.

Someone goes up and gets started as Jasper continues eating. "Why do I have the feeling that you will attempt to cheat at this game?"

"Cheat? Me?" Sylvando blinks several times as he gasps. "Why, I would never!"

Jasper laughs. "That is exactly what a cheater would say."

"How dare you accuse me of cheating, you… you… stale piece of bread!"

"If you do not cheat, then prove it by going next." Jasper smirks as he points to the person taking their blindfold off.

"You know what, honey? I will!" Sylvando determindly walks up and takes his respective tail out, then gets blindfolded and spun around.

Jasper suppresses a laugh as Sylvando stumbles his way to the corkboard. Sylvando wildly waves his arm around as he tries to find the corkboard. After several fumbles, Sylvando finally stabs the tack into the board… nowhere near the target. Sylvando lifts the blindfold up, takes one look at where his tail landed, and lets out a laugh.

"At least you know I didn't cheat!" Sylvando says as he gives the blindfold back to Servantes.

"Very well. I believe you." Jasper eats his last cookie. Damn, Rodrigo makes good cookies.

"I hope you win this one. The birthday boy deserves to win at least one game."

"I deserve to win every game."

Another person goes, and then another. Jasper and Sylvando remain deeply engrossed in their conversation, not realizing how time is flying until Rodrigo calls Sylvando over.

"Why? What is it?" Sylvando asks.

"Rab is about to go next, and I need to lower the board so that he can reach." Rodrigo explains.

Sylvando goes over and helps Rodrigo remove the board. Then, he crouches down and holds it upright as Rodrigo fixes it in place.

"There. It is done." Rodrigo takes his hands off of the corkboard.

Sylvando stands up and checks the stability of the board before walking off to the side. "Rabby, darling, you can go now!"

Rodrigo picks Rab's tail out and hands it over to Rab, who trots up to Servantes.

"So, what was it were you saying?" Jasper approaches from the side opposite of Rab.

Sylvando turns to Jasper with a smile. "I said you have a beautiful smile."

Jasper blushes and shoves some food into his mouth.

Sylvando laughs. "Don't hide it, my darling! I love seeing you smile!"

Jasper says something incoherent thanks to the food in his mouth.

"Watch out, Jazzy, you don't want to choke, do you?"

Jasper swallows. "There. Are you happy?"

"Very." Sylvando clasps his hands in front of him. "Now you can light up that handsome face of yours with a-" Sylvando abruptly screams at the top of his lungs.

Jasper is rushing forward before he even processes the scream. He grabs Sylvando and pulls him close before spinning around so that Jasper's body is protecting him from the threat. Then, Jasper turns towards the threat and growls menacingly.

"Wh-what happened?" Rab asks as he lifts up his blindfold as if he's not holding a pin with Sylvando's blood on it.

"Jasper, calm down!" Hendrik holds a hand out.

Jasper snaps his teeth at Hendrik.

"Jasper!" Sylvando raises his voice before quieting it back down. "Just… move away from them. Come on." Sylvando tugs on Jasper's arm.

Jasper looks at Sylvando, and his face softens. He does as Sylvando tells him, then he hugs Sylvando tight and buries his face in Sylvando's neck.

"There, there, Jazzy, it's ok. I'm fine." Sylvando rubs Jasper's back. "I just need a quick heal, and then it'll be like nothing ever happened."

"What… happened?" Jasper struggles to get out.

"I think Rab tried to pin the tail and missed."

"Oh…" So Sylvando isn't badly injured. That's a relief. Jasper lets his grip slacken.

Then Rab draws near, and Jasper immediately goes on the defensive again.

"Hey hey hey, shhhh. Let him heal me." Sylvando's soft tone is a balm for Jasper's agitated soul.

Jasper relaxes his body, but doesn't take his eye off of Rab for a second. Rab casts some weak healing magic on Sylvando.

"There. That should do ye." Rab offers a smile.

Jasper and Sylvando look at Sylvando's injury at the same time. A spot of blood still surrounds a hole, but at least it seems to have healed. Sylvando pokes at the spot and doesn't flinch. Good. Even a minor injury in such an indecent place could prove inconvenient.

Wait. There's blood in an indecent place on Sylvando's clothing.

Jasper immediately strips out of his shirt to the cheers of the Soldiers of Smile and ties the sleeves around Sylvando's hips. He makes sure the bloodstain is completely covered before deeming it good.

"Do you need to get changed?" Jasper softly asks Sylvando.

Sylvando shakes his head and hugs himself.

"…Did I scare you?"

"A little."

"I apologize. I did not mean to… almost transform."

"Come here." Sylvando shakily smiles.

Jasper hugs Sylvando once again. Only then does he fully relax and allow himself to fully revert back to his human form.

"I'm not mad, darling. I know you were just scared." Sylvando mumbles.

The people around them let out a collective sigh of relief. With the crisis averted, Rab goes back to playing, this time with everyone far away from the corkboard. But Jasper doesn't join them. All he wants is to comfort his beloved jester, and to be comforted in return.

"Jasper?" Sylvando takes his head off of Jasper's shoulder.

"Yes?"

"Some of the boys are staring at you."

Jasper turns around. Hendrik has the decency to pretend he wasn't looking, while several Soldiers of Smile blatantly stare. Ugh. Perverts.

"I am going to go inside and put a shirt on." Jasper points towards the main house before walking away.

\-----

Jasper sighs as he loses yet another game of loteria. Truly, Lady Luck frowns on him when it comes to bingo and similar games. He pushes his board to the side and takes a long swig of his drink.

"Are you becoming tired of this game?" Hendrik asks him.

"Yes."

"Shall we take a break together?"

Jasper's about to object, then he figures it wouldn't hurt to step away from the game for a bit. "I do not see why not."

Hendrik stands and offers his hand to Jasper. Jasper gets out of his seat on his own. If Hendrik is hurt or offended, he does not show it. Instead, they move to a more secluded area, away from other people.

"Are you enjoying your birthday so far?" Hendrik starts off with.

"Yes." Jasper swirls his drink around as he watches the other partygoers.

"I am grateful for that." Hendrik remains quiet for several minutes. "Did you receive your party favor for winning the tail game?"

"Yes. Sylvando is holding onto it for the time being." Jasper crosses his legs. "Did you win any games?"

"No."

"I see…" Goddess, when is the cake going to come out? "Do you think there are going to be any more activities?"

Hendrik rubs the back of his neck. "I am not certain. I was only told of the ones we have already played."

"Hm." Jasper takes a sip. "Do you suppose they baked the cake ahead of time, or are they stalling to give it time to be prepared?"

"It had to have been baked ahead of time. Don Rodrigo is careful not to leave any matter to the last minute."

"I will take your word for it." Around ten minutes pass before the activity ends. Jasper finishes his drink before standing up. "Shall we return to the others?"

"I am not opposed to that."

They walk back to their original seats, not in any particular hurry. Sylvando smiles as he holds up a party favor.

"Look at what I won!" Sylvando shakes the bag.

"Congratulations." Jasper sits with Sylvando, desperately wishing his blush isn't obvious when their legs knock together.

Mia just pouts at Sylvando's party favor.

"Is something the matter?" Hendrik directs this question to Mia.

"I won earlier, but they wouldn't give me another bag because I already won musical chairs!"

"Do not feel bad about it. You already have one bag, do you not?" Jasper reminds Mia. "You are better off than most of the people. Besides, there will surely be another chance for you to get a bag."

"If you say so…" Mia grumbles.

Sylvando blinks and hits Jasper's arm with the back of his hand. "Jasper. Look. I think that's the cake."

Two people are carrying out a large plate with a metal dome over it. They carefully set it down on the food table along with a cake knife. Jasper's mouth waters at the implications.

"Jasper! Come here!" Rodrigo beckons for Jasper at the food table.

Jasper can't come to the cake fast enough. He can't stop staring at the dome hiding his prize.

Rodrigo chuckles. "I see you already know what is under this." Rodrigo lifts the dome up to reveal a big cake with white frosting and the words 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASPER' on it in bright green letters with a barking dog in the corner. Rodrigo stabs some candles into the cake. "Everyone, your attention please! We are about to start singing for Jasper!"

Everyone gets up and approaches the table. Rodrigo lights the candles with a weak fire spell before Jasper's eyes. Then, the crowd starts singing a song in Valorian. Jasper can't follow the lyrics, but he understands the meaning nonetheless. Every syllable, from the native speakers to those that don't speak it but try to keep up nonetheless, fills Jasper's heart with liquid warmth. Jasper can't stop smiling. How could he, when all of his friends are singing for him?

Eventually, the crowd stops singing. Jasper stands there, waiting for something to happen. When everyone just stares at him, Jasper starts shifting from foot to foot.

"That's your cue, honey!" Sylvando whispers.

"Oh!" Jasper turns and blows out the candles. Despite his efforts to get them all in one puff, four remain lit. Jasper blows on them a second time, and they go out.

Everyone cheers and claps for Jasper as Rodrigo takes the candles out and starts cutting the cake. Charlie sets out several small plates for Rodrigo to put the slices on.

"Which part do you want?" Rodrigo asks after he's done cutting a row out.

"The corner piece with the dog." Jasper points to that piece of the cake.

Rodrigo puts the piece on a plate and hands it over. "You know, it's a tradition to shove the birthday person's face into the cake."

Jasper can't back away fast enough.

Rodrigo tilts his head back and laughs. "I will not do it this year, chico. But next year… you had better brace yourself."

Jasper nervously laughs and scoots away. "I shall, um, keep that in mind."

Jasper returns to his seat, cake in tow. He patiently waits for his friends to return. Unsurprisingly, Mia is first to sit back down.

"I'm surprised you and Sylvando didn't cut it together." Mia comments as she stabs a piece off of her cake.

"Pardon?"

"That's what couples do together, don't they?" Mia says ever so casually as she lifts the fork to her mouth. "They cut cake together on special occasions. Or at least on their wedding."

It takes several moments for Jasper to process what Mia said. When it finally hits him, his eyes grow so wide they bulge, and his glass eye pops out. Jasper doesn't even notice it over the way his entire being burns.

"I-I- you think- um…" Jasper struggles to get anything intelligible out. "We are not… he wouldn't…"

Mia just laughs. "Oh my goddess, you two are totally dating!"

"We are not!" Jasper just wants to curl up and allow the earth to swallow him whole.

"Whatever you say, old man." Mia takes a bite of her cake, and Jasper has never seen someone eat so smugly.

Jasper groans and puts his face in his hands. "You truly are a hellchild…"

"I try." Mia continues eating with a grin.

Jasper rubs his cheeks to dispel his blush. A grown man getting flustered by an early teen that doesn't know what she's talking about. How pathetic… No! He can't beat himself up. Dr Escuella specifically told him not to do that.

"Are you feeling ok, honey?"

Jasper jumps. Sylvando and Hendrik are standing right there next to Jasper.

"Y-yes…" Jasper nods a little too hard.

Both Hendrik and Sylvando sit down, but not without concerned looks from both of them.

"Could you be overheating?" Hendrik suggests.

"No! I am fine!" Jasper tries to assure them.

Sylvando frowns. He holds his hand out, snaps his fingers, and a sunhat appears in his previously empty hand. Then, he places the hat atop Jasper's head. "There you go. That should keep you cool."

"Thank you…" Jasper quietly mumbles as he cuts into his red cake. Is it red velvet?

"Do you require a drink?" Hendrik doesn't start eating just yet.

"No." Jasper eats a bite of cake. Oh, it's strawberry. It's very good.

Mia evilly chuckles. "Why don't you ask him what we were just talking about?"

"NO!"

It's Hendrik's and Sylvando's turns to jump back. They both look to Mia for answers, but Mia conveniently stays quiet.

"…Do you like the cake?" Hendrik switches the topic.

"Yes. It is quite good." Jasper keeps eating.

"Don't stuff yourself too full of cake. This party isn't over just yet." Sylvando gives Jasper a knowing smile.

"What does that mean?" Jasper asks.

"You'll see."

Jasper mentally shrugs. He talks to anyone that wishes him a happy birthday while he keeps eating cake. Before long, the entire cake is gone. Jasper couldn't be happier. He retains that mood as they all walk into the garden, then Jasper abruptly stops. None other than Jasper's former master is painted on a brittle-looking cocoon hanging from a tree by some rope.

"There is another tradition we have here in Puerto Valor." Rodrigo swings a long wooden sword as he speaks. "On holidays, and especially birthdays, we take a paper mache container or clay pot, fill it with candy, and then we all take turns hitting it while blindfolded. Then, everyone gathers the candy that falls out of it until the container, the piñata, is completely broken." Rodrigo holds the sword out to Jasper.

Jasper looks at the piñata, then at the sword. He takes it with a smirk, then waits for someone to blindfold him. Once he is blindfolded, he gets spun around five times. After that, he is nudged towards the piñata.

"You have three swings!" Rodrigo calls out.

Three swings. Should be more than enough to destroy the effigy of Mordegon. Jasper settles into a fighting stance, then charges forward and slashes. The sword connects with rope, sending the piñata swinging. Two swings. Jasper waits for the piñata to stabilize, then aims lower. He is rewarded with a satisfying crack. He can just make out the sound of small objects hitting the ground. One swing. Jasper finishes with a strong downward attack. Another crack for his efforts. Jasper relaxes and leaves his stance. He lifts his blindfold up to find that the piñata is still mostly intact, albeit with candy spilling out of it.

"Don't stall, or else everyone will take the candy before you do!" Rodrigo shouts.

People start rushing forward. Jasper drops down and grabs as much candy as he can before the others get to it. He only manages to grab a few pieces, which he shoves into his pockets. Then, the rest of the guests take turns brutalizing Mordegon and gathering his delicious entrails, a thought that nearly makes Jasper laugh out loud. Sylvando, Hendrik, Jade, and Rab are among the last to hit the piñata due to having already killed the real deal, but they don't seem to mind much.

By the time Jasper gets to go again, the piñata is clearly on its last legs. It only takes two hits to completely destroy it and spill the remaining contents all over the ground. Jasper gathers as much candy as he can, then when the last piece has been taken, he and everyone else walks away from the remains of the piñata.

"Ooh, your pockets are practically overflowing!" Sylvando points out.

"I know." Jasper lifts the bottom of his shirt up and deposits his last handful in the pocket he created. "Shall we appraise our ill-gotten gains?"

"You sound absolutely dastardly. I'd love to!"

Jasper and Sylvando dump their candy onto a picnic table and start sorting through what they got. Jasper frowns at the amount of hard candy he got.

"Are you open to trading?" Jasper asks as he pushes the hard candy into a separate pile.

"What are you trading?"

"Everything in this pile." Jasper points to the hard candy pile.

"How about a piece for a piece?" Sylvando offers.

"That sounds fair." Jasper starts making the trades for each individual candy. It's not long before they both get rid of all the candy they don't want. "Could you give me my party favor?"

"Of course, sweetheart." Sylvando snaps his fingers, making said bag appear. He hands it over, then gathers his candy into one big pile and poofs it into whatever dimension Sylvando stores things in.

Jasper shoves as much candy into the bag as he can, then frowns when he realizes that isn't going to be enough. "Can I borrow a larger bag?"

"Anything for you, my darling." Sylvando whips out a medium bag and holds it out with a smile.

\-----

As Jasper stares into the remains of the piñata, Mordegon's disgusting eyes stare back. Jasper's throat bobs as he sets the twigs in the fireplace, then lights a match and sets the wood on fire. He gently blows on it to encourage the flame, then adds thicker wood. The door opens behind Jasper, making him look up.

"Jasper? What are you doing?" Sylvando mumbles as he rubs his eyes.

"I am going to burn Mordegon." Jasper says matter-of-factly as he returns to his task.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

"Go ahead."

Sylvando sits next to Jasper and holds his hands out to the fire. "Do you want any help?"

"No." Jasper shakes his head. He keeps stoking the fire with a poker. "This is… personal."

"I totally understand, darling." If that sentence had come from anyone else, it would be completely and utterly sarcastic.

"…I never knew that monster viscera could taste so good."

Sylvando freezes for a moment. "I forgot about the whole candy thing, and I was so very concerned about you."

Jasper quietly laughs. "You need not worry about me. If anything, I need to worry about you. It is rather late, and we were dancing for hours."

"Me and the boys are staying the night here." Sylvando informs him.

"I see." Jasper adds more wood. Then, he picks up Mordegon's face and stares into his eye. Jasper's blood boils hotter the longer he stares at Mordegon. He jams his thumb through one of Mordegon's eyes, then throws it into the fire. He does the same for each piece of the piñata until all that is left is rapidly-burning paper.

"Do you mind if I hug you?" Sylvando asks.

Jasper takes a deep breath. "Go ahead."

Sylvando curls up into Jasper's side and wraps his arms around Jasper's midsection. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I do not wish to inflict an undue burden onto you. Besides, I have already vented to you several times."

"Then how about a vent for a vent, hm? That way, it's equal."

Jasper sighs. "Alright. Who shall start?"

"You can if you want, honey." Sylvando nuzzles Jasper's shoulder.

"…Where do I begin?" Jasper bites his lip as he ponders. "Mordegon… he gave me the scar on my face. I do not even remember why. All I know was that I made a mistake, and the next thing I knew, Mordegon was pinning me down and burning my face off. After that, he threw me into solitary confinement for… I do not know how long. Up to a week, most likely. No one gave me food, water, or medical attention during that time. By the time I was released, I was at death's door, and… it had been too long to save my eye. The doctors did what they could, but…"

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Sylvando hugs Jasper tighter. "You deserved so much better than what you got."

"There is no point in dwelling on it now. What is done is done. And in a way, I have gotten my revenge." Jasper stares into the fire.

"Still, what that nasty man did to you was wrong. All of it."

"That is true." Jasper wraps an arm around Sylvando. "Would you like to vent now?"

"Sure." Sylvando sighs. "I miss Eleven. A lot. I was in such an awful state after he… you know."

Jasper squeezes Sylvando's hand.

"Thank you." Sylvando squeezes back. "Anyway, I turned to my friends first and foremost. Most of them were completely supportive, but… there was one person who… he…" Sylvando's voice cracks. "Hit me. For being depressed. And then he basically told me to get over it." Sobs wrack Sylvando's chest. "I knew him for years. And he treated me like dirt when I needed him most. So… we parted ways."

"Goddess." Jasper gasps. "Even I never treated someone in grief like that."

Sylvando wipes away his tears, even as more keep coming. "It… there's no light way of saying this. It fucked me up. I wasn't sure if I could ever trust someone again. And then… I met you."

"Surely I did not help you that much." Jasper threads his fingers with Sylvando's. "After all, I was just barely surviving when we met."

"But you did. You spent time with me even though you were afraid of me. You went to my troupe's performances. And you got me to be more social. Without you, I wouldn't have even talked to people outside of my papi and my troupe."

"…You were that poorly off?"

"Yes. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't notice. You were clearly too caught up in your own trauma. Besides… we didn't know each other that well."

"Did anyone notice?" Jasper asks.

"I don't think so. No one in Puerto Valor, anyway. As far as anyone was concerned, I was my normal, happy self."

"…Shit. I suppose our meeting was serendipity."

Sylvando actually laughs at that. "Maybe my guardian celestrian brought us together."

"Either way, it is funny how life works out. One moment, we were trying to kill each other, and the next, we become best friends." Jasper cracks a smile.

"Oh boy. Imagine how my past self would react if they found out I'd have a falling-out with my bestie and befriend the same big bad knight that kidnapped my darling Erik."

"Imagine how I would have reacted upon finding that the same person that nearly killed me would become my best friend."

Sylvando laughs again. "We would have given our past selves heart attacks."

"That much is certain." Jasper stares into the dying flame. "But… I think it is for the better this way."

"I agree. Every single day, I thank the goddess that we got to meet again under bettee terms."

"Mhm." Jasper yawns.

"I'm sorry, am I keeping you up?"

"A little." Jasper rubs his eye.

"We should go to bed. Before we regret it in the morning." Sylvando breaks the hug.

Jasper raises his arms above his head and stretches with a groan. "Before we do, I need to ask you a question."

"Ask away, darling."

"When a relationship is not… giving you what you need, what do you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… you do not like being in it because it feels one-sided. Or the two of you do not do what you would like. Ugh, I cannot…" Jasper waves a dismissive hand. "It is late."

"So in other words, a relationship that doesn't make you happy?" Sylvando ventures.

"Yes."

"Hm…" Sylvando takes a second to think. "I can't say much without knowing who you're talking about, but the best advice I can give you is to use your own best judgement. If they consistently make you happy, keep being around them. If they don't, then stop hanging out with them."

Jasper groans. "You make it sound so simple."

"That's what all relationships boil down to, though. If you realize that someone doesn't make you happy, then the whole relationship starts to look a lot less appealing."

"…I shall think on it." Jasper stands up and holds his hand out. Sylvando takes it with a smile, and Jasper helps pull Sylvando to his feet. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, honey."

Jasper hugs Sylvando one more time. "Sylvando?"

"Yes?"

"You may touch me whenever you wish. As long as it is you."

\-----

Jasper's hands have never trembled so much in his life. The weight of the ring feels as though it weighs a thousand tons, and yet Jasper forces himself to keep holding it up.

"J-Jasper…" Hendrik takes a step back in shock. "What is the meaning of this?"

Jasper's throat bobs. "I am giving back the ring. I… I know that you still hold feelings for me, but… I have moved on."

"We do not have to part ways! We can… remain friends!"

"And I intend to. But we cannot be together. Not as we used to." Jasper blinks away rapidly-forming tears. "You… you neglected me. And… I do not wish to be lovers with one who hurt me in that manner."

"Jasper…" Hendrik brings his hands to Jasper's upper arms. "I am truly sorry for all of the pain I have caused. But I swear on my honor that I shall do better by you."

Jasper shakes his head as he breaks out of Hendrik's hold. "No. I do not want to go back. You know how our relationship ended. If we rekindle our romance, who knows how it would end?"

"We have learned from that! We can have a better relationship than before!"

"No!" Tears start to flow. "I-I do not want it again!" Jasper shoves the ring into Hendrik's chest. "Just take it back."

Hendrik stays quiet as he stares at the ring. Eventually, he reaches up and takes the ring from Jasper's hand and delicately holds it between two fingers. Jasper can't bear to look at Hendrik's face. He couldn't even if he wanted to. The tears are blurring his vision too much to make any of Hendrik's features.

"I hope you find someone new." Is all Jasper can bring himself to say before turning tail and walking away.

He's not sure if Hendrik is following him But he doubts Hendrik is doing so. Not after what just transpired. Jasper heads straight home, constantly wiping away his tears along the way. As soon as he reaches his bed, he collapses on it and clutches his precious teddy bear.

Jasper bites the pillow and sobs, staining it with saliva and snot and tears. He's such a baby. Here he is, crying over a love HE nipped in the bud. He feels awful. He feels pathetic.

"Jasper?" Charlie walks in and stands by the bed. "What happened?"

Jasper quickly dries his face off. "Nothing." He says in the steadiest voice he can muster.

"Uh-huh. And I've suddenly gone blind."

Jasper flips the pillow over.

Charlie sighs and sits on the bed. "What's wrong?"

Jasper's throat bobs. "I broke Hendrik's heart. And somehow, I am the one crying over it."

"Oh…" Charlie fiddles with the end of her hair. "I get it. Breakups are hard for every party involved. Including the one doing it."

"Still…"

"Hey, look at me."

Jasper looks up at Charlie.

"Feelings are messy, especially when they involve an ex. Don't beat yourself up over them." Charlie tells him.

"But-"

"No buts! Just let yourself be sad." Charlie interrupts before Jasper has the chance to truly object.

Jasper buries his face in the pillow. Charlie does have a point. Jasper unclasps his token of fealty and allows the cord to fall to the sides of his neck. Then, he pushes himself up on his elbows and removes his necklace from under his shirt. He lifts it up to his face and contemplates it for several minutes before frowning and taking it to his footlocker.

"What are you doing?" Charlie leans over to look inside.

Jasper ignores her as he retrieves a small box from near the top. He opens it to reveal a beautiful rose gold pendant with a gray moonstone inlaid. Jasper wastes no time in replacing the necklaces, then he throws the moonstone pendant over his head and brings it down to around his neck.

"Where'd you get that necklace?" Charlie asks.

"Sylv gave it to me as a birthday present." Jasper closes the box before putting it in the footlocker and shutting the footlocker. "What do you think of it?"

"Looks good enough to steal!" Charlie grins and gives Jasper a thumbs-up.

"Charlie, I swear to the goddes, if you touch my pendant, I will hit you."

Charlie laughs. "I'm kidding. But seriously, you should thank Sylv for that."

"I already have." Jasper points out.

"I meant something more… tangible. Like…" Charlie looks to the side and taps her chin. "A dozen roses and a heart-shaped box of chocolates."

Jasper smacks Charlie with the pillow.

\-----

Jasper hands a small gift basket to each member of Sylvia's former party, giving the slightly bigger ones to Erik and Serena, then dumps a large backpack full of goodies into Mia's arms. "Remember, if you ever need help with your schoolwork, write a letter to me, and I shall help as best I can."

"Geez! How much stuff did you shove in there?" Erik stares at the sheer bulk of the backpack.

"As much as Mia might need." Jasper answers.

"You had better put some snacks in this thing." Mia groans as she puts the backpack on.

"I did. I also put some school supplies and clothing in your bag. Essentially, I packed everything you might need and more."

"Sure feels like it." Mia does the straps that go around her chest.

"Surely she wouldn't need that much stuff at a boarding school…" Serena looks over the bag with furrowed brows.

"If it is anything like military academy, she will need all that she can get." Jasper zips up a slightly open zipper.

"Aye, that much is true." Rab strokes the end of his mustache.

"I just hope you manage to make some friends…" Jade says to Mia.

"I'll be fine! It's just school. How bad can it be?"

"I, for one, hope you make a few new rivals." Jasper smirks as he hugs Mia. "Good luck. And try not to get caught breaking the rules."

Mia scoffs. "I don't need to try."

The rest of them joins the hug. Mia ends up in the middle of them, and Jasper catches a smile on her face before she starts gagging.

"Ewwww, you all smell awful!" Mia giggles. "Get away from me!"

Jasper is first to break the hug. "I hate to be the one to inform you, but one day you shall smell like us."

"Nuh-uh, I'm gonna be young forever!" Mia steps out of the hug pile.

Erik laughs. "Of course you will. You're going to stay like that and let your smell fester."

"Hey!" Mia smacks Erik on the arm. "You're the stinky one, not me!"

"Children, behave." Hendrik steps forward, clearly preparing to get inbetween them.

"Don't you worry about them, honey. They're just playing!" Sylvia smiles as she waves a dismissive hand. "It's what siblings do."

"If you say so…" Hendrik mumbles as he keeps his eye on Mia and Erik.

When they stop bullying each other, Erik sighs and brushes his hair back. "We should get going soon. Can't stay here forever."

Mia's face falls. "Aw man…"

A twinge of sadness pricks at Jasper's heart. "Farewell, Mia. I shall miss you."

"Bye…" Mia looks down. "You better write to me." She tries to come of aggressive, Jasper can tell, but she ends up falling flat.

"I shall. I promise." Jasper puts on a smile for Mia.

"Bye, everyone…" Mia waves to everyone else.

A chorus of goodbyes respond back.

"You ready?" Erik asks.

"Yeah." Mia nods.

Erik takes Mia's hand, then digs a chimaera wing out of his pocket and tosses it. In a flash of light, they float into the air and disappear. Jasper gives them one last wave, even though he knows they could not possibly see it.

"We should leave, too." Serena says. "Jade and I need to visit some friends of ours in Octagonia."

"Bye-bye. Make sure you don't mix drinking and gambling." Sylvia hugs them both.

"I concur. I recommend staying away from both activities. They will ultimately leave you worse off." Hendrik warns them.

Jade rolls her eyes. "Oh, Henny-Wenny, you need to get that stick out of your ass."

"I only wish to ensure your safety, prin- I mean, Jade."

"I know. You stay safe as well." Jade takes Serena's hand. "Shall we?"

Serena smiles a little and squeezes Jade's hand. She takes out a chimaera wing and flings it up, disappearing in the same manner as the siblings.

Rab sighs. "They grow up so fast…" He turns to Sylvia. "Remember, lassie: when ye find love, ye have to pursue it, or else it will never be."

Sylvia glances at Jasper. Is that a blush on her cheeks? "I-I'll remember that. Thank you."

"Good." Rab pats Sylvia's forearm. "We don't want ye lookin' like me before you say anything, do ye?"

What could Rab mean by that? Before Jasper can finish pondering, Rab disappears into the sky. Jasper blinks as he begins processing his surroundings once again. Now, all that is left is Hendrik.

"Uh…" Hendrik starts looking sheepish. "Well, I shall return to Heliodor. The citizens still have need for me."

Jasper purses his lips and knots his brows together. "I see."

Hendrik makes no move, and neither does Jasper.

"I shall… write to you. Now that I know your address. Ahem…" Hendrik scratches the back of his neck.

An impulse strikes across Jasper's mind. He does not resist it. He comes forward and embraces Hendrik in a hug. Hendrik sucks in a breath. Then, he returns the hug.

"Farewell, my friend." Jasper shuts his eyes and leans his head into the hug.

"Farewell. I shall miss you. Dearly."

They let go at the same time, stepping away from each other. Hendrik doesn't stop looking at Jasper as he brings out a chimaera wing. He and Jasper share a glance, and Hendrik is off to Heliodor. Jasper sighs and lets his head hang.

"I miss my darling friends already…" Sylvia looks up at the sky with her hands over her heart.

"They deserve to live a good life after…" Jasper trails off.

"They do." Sylvia sadly smiles. "Uh, do you… want to take a walk with me?"

"Where do you want to go?" Jasper immediately agrees.

"Hm, maybe… to the beach?" Sylvia suggests.

"As long as we do not go swimming." Jasper would do anything for Sylvia. Except swim. Because swimming is stupid. "I do not want to get my hair wet."

"Don't you worry, darling. All I want is to spend a little time with my most handsome friend." Sylvia winks before trotting ahead. She turns and looks back at Jasper. "Well? Don't just stand there with your mouth open. Come on!"

Jasper closes his gaping mouth and breaks into a half-run. Did Sylvia just…? No. She's just being her playful self. In fact, she probably does this to everyone. Yeah, it must be that.

"Do you go to the beach often?" Jasper asks to make conversation.

"Mm, not really. My last swimsuit fell apart, so I can't go swimming."

Jasper chuckles. "That is a sign that you swim too much."

"What's wrong with swimming too much?"

"For one, your skin will wrinkle up, and you will look even more like a granny than you do now."

"Says the man with white hair." Sylvia retorts.

Jasper tucks his hair behind his ear. "On a more serious note, do you ever come to the beach for purposes other than swimming?"

"Nope. I just really like swimming." Sylvia steps onto the sandy beach. "Ooh, there's a nice breeze out!"

Jasper is a little more hesitant to walk on the sand, but he keeps pace with Sylvia nonetheless. He opens his mouth to say something when he stops dead in his tracks. The wind lightly tosses Sylvia's gently-slicked hair, giving her an etheral appearance that, combined with her shining gray eyes, give off the appearance of an angel. Even the ocean waves add to this effect, crashing in a melodic rhythmn reminiscent of a holy choir.

"Hellooooo? Anyone home?" Sylvia waves a hand in front of Jasper's face.

Jasper rapidly blinks. Goddess, this stupid crush is getting out of hand. "Um, what were you saying?"

"I asked if you ever come to the beach just for fun."

"No." Jasper simply answers.

Sylvia gasps. "Truly?"

"Truly."

Sylvia makes Jasper stop. "We need to start fixing that right now!"

Jasper looks around. "We are at the beach right this moment."

"I meant you need to start coming more often! You spend so much of your time cleaning the beach up, you should be able to enjoy it!"

"Um…" Jasper fidgets. "I do not know what I could do."

"That's perfectly fine, honey! I'll show you all the wonderful things you could do!"

"I do not have a bathing suit, either."

"Plenty of clothes stores sell them." Sylvia informs Jasper, leaning slightly forward. "Come on, sweetie, we could go together. Please?"

…Shit. "Of course."

Sylvia smiles so wide, and it lights up Jasper's entire world. "Wonderful! So, same day as always?"

\-----

It isn't even midday yet, and Jasper just wants to crawl into a hole and hide for all eternity. First, a panic attack came on so fast that Jasper didn't have the chance to prevent it. Then, he tore a large hole in the swimsuit he bought, and had to get a new one at the last minute. And just now, someone walked in on him while he was changing into said swimsuit. It seems the whole universe is out to get Jasper today.

Still, he gulps down some water and rubs his good eye. Perhaps he can salvage this day. All he has to do is go outside and meet Sylv at their usual meetup point. He doesn't need to worry about supplies. Sylvia has that covered.

Jasper steps outside the main house. Yolanda and Charlie are holding a conversation on the porch that dies as soon as they see Jasper. They look at Jasper with matching smirks while Jasper starts sweating.

"What is it?" Jasper asks.

"Nothing. I'm just proud of you." Yolanda's grin only grows wider as she pretends to sniffle and wipe away a tear. "Our shy little Jasper finally worked up the courage to go on a date with Sylv."

"Pardon?!"

"Now, all that's left is for them to get married!" Charlie laughs as she slaps her leg.

"PARDON?!"

"But seriously, are you going to make a move soon?" Yolanda asks.

"I do not have… those feelings for Sylv." Jasper lies.

The women before him only laugh at that.

"You don't have to hide it, you know. Sylv likes you too." Charlie leans on the wall and crosses her arms.

Fury builds up within Jasper's soul. "I do not have to put up with this childish bullshit!" Jasper storms off, clenching both his fists and his teeth.

As soon as he's outside Rodrigo's property, Jasper dives into a dark corner and slams his open palm against a wall. "Goddess DAMMIT!"

How could they make fun of his feelings for Sylv?! He doesn't understand it. They're his friends! And grown adults at that! Jasper thought he left this pettiness behind in Sniflheim!

No. Forget about them. Jasper can still have a nice day. He just needs a bit of time to cool off before seeing Sylv. He can't risk snapping at his best friend, after all. Maybe… he could stop by the smoothie stall. Get something to drink. Yeah, that should help.

Jasper takes some deep breaths, then goes to said smoothie stall. He clears his throat to get the stallkeeper's attention. "One berry blast."

"Coming right up." The stallkeeper makes Jasper's smoothie, then trades the finished product for some gold. "So, are you planning any hot dates?"

Jasper groans. "Not you too…"

"Hey, you're always gushing about that special someone who you refuse to name." The stallkeeper starts cleaning out his equipment. "Are they… a lover?"

Jasper shakes his head and walks off with the smoothie. He takes a sip and allows the drink to linger in his mouth as he walks to his and Sylv's meetup spot. Just as he expected, Sylvia is there waiting for him with a large bag and a parasol.

"Jazzy!" Sylvia immediately gets up and tacklehugs Jasper. "Oh, it's so good to see you!"

Jasper has just enough time to protect his smoothie from the wrath of the biggest hug in the entire world. "Calm down, we last saw one another the other day."

"That doesn't mean I can't miss you!" Sylvia nuzzles Jasper's neck.

Jasper's cheeks heat up. He quickly taps out, and Sylvia lets go. "Shall we go?"

"One second, honey." Sylvia grabs her bag and parasol.

"Allow me to carry that." Jasper takes the parasol from Sylvia's hand.

"Why, thank you very much." Sylvia flutters her lashes. "You must be working so hard on your training."

"Is it that noticeable?" Jasper asks as they start walking to the beach.

"Of course!" Sylvia links her arm with Jasper's, gracefully avoiding any action that could make Jasper drop something. "Your muscles are getting so big and toned. A girl could stare at them all day…" Sylvia wistfully sighs.

…Wait a minute. Did Sylvia flirt with him? That would mean… No. If there's anyone above such behavior, it's Sylvia. There's no way she would be in on this cruel joke. She would never make fun of him like this…

Right?


End file.
